


The Ghost of Fiore

by klypso01



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Action/Adventure, Assassination, F/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recovery, Swordfighting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2019-10-14 16:52:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 40
Words: 145,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17512358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klypso01/pseuds/klypso01
Summary: Ember Thorn has lost everything because of her magic, her home, her friends, and even her family. She hates what she can do, and vows never to be weak enough to need to rely on her magic again, but is that really an option? At 11 she is the youngest and the best mercenary out there, going by The Ghost of Fiore, though no one knows of her true age and name. All seems to be going well until she meets a young mage who isn't going to let her complete her job without a fight. Having a childhood is no longer an option for this young girl, but can she perhaps have a friend?Laxus Dreyer is one cocky son of a gun, so when he was asked to guard a town from a high-profile mercenary, he figures he can do this job no problem. But when he meets and fights Ember, he begins to admire her attitude and her skill at non-magic fighting. He barely wins the fight, but now his objective is to help this girl and possibly even become her friend, will she let him? Laxus x Ember





	1. The Contract

Ah, it was the perfect day out, the sun was shining, there were no clouds in the sky, and there was a beautiful breeze. I was wandering through a city square, enjoying the fair they had going on and putting on my favorite innocent little girl act while enjoying some food I had bought earlier that day with my headphones in and my favorite symphony playing in my ears. All in all, it was the perfect day to complete a job.

If only people could see my thoughts, they would be running from me in terror like I was one of those mass murderers... Oh wait, that's exactly what I was.

Underneath my carefully constructed, care-free façade, I was watching my target closely, as I had been doing for the last week; he was stuffing his face with his third turkey leg of the day, and I was counting my blessings that this was my last day of the job. My hit was the owner of the local bank, and the longer I watched him, the more I was glad to be ridding the world of such a nasty piece of work; it was completely his fault for pissing off enough people who had... less than legal contacts.

When I was contacted for this, I was sure it would be a day long job, at the most; but I was instead pleasantly surprised, as he had a high amount of security surrounding him at all hours of the day. Sneaking into his home was no issue, following him around was child's play, and I had heard way more of his illegal business transaction that I had bargained for, but that wasn't the problem; my problem was the overly competent security team he had protecting him!

Yes, you could say I was pissed, it wasn't often that I came across bodyguards who were always competent at their jobs, but this batch of kids, KIDS MY AGE mind you, had this man completely covered. They were the sole reason that he was alive though at least four other assassins, and it really didn't hurt that they were all competent mages.

The last week had been revealing in more ways than one, between getting ahold of a small sample of their blood to discover what type of magic they had and pushing to see if my magic immunity applied to the rune mage, I had been busy. Currently, my biggest threat was the blond lightning dragon slayer whose blood tasted like I was licking a lacrima; he may have a huge chip on his shoulder, but he also contained the most magical potential, as well as the most legitimate threat to my abilities.

I had watched them train several times, and he moved as though he was lightning, packing a lot of energy with or without his electricity. His senses were also approaching superhuman, and because of that, he had nearly caught on to me once before.

Other than him there was a grass head rune mage, whose blood tasted ink, dark magic, and adoration. I wasn't too worried about him, seeing as how I had already snuck past various rune shields he had set up with no ramification. He was highly competent, but if his magic wouldn't work on me, then he wasn't a threat to me.

The tank of the group, a blue-haired preteen who was fond of sticking out his tongue, came across as intimidating, and with good reason. His blood tasted of energy, but not the same kind that the blond spark plug had, his was far more diluted, though it was still dangerous. At first, I was stumped, having never tasted anything like that before, but after watching him train and doing some research, I came to realize that he had a form of soul possession magic. How my magical immunity would hold up against him, I didn't know, but he wasn't the best at hand to hand combat because he let his dolls do the fighting for him, and hand to hand combat happened to be my specialty.

Finally, I came to the diva of the group, the brunette in a skimpy green dress (I suspected she dressed that way in order to hide her inferiority complex), her blood tasted like weird light; though, after some studying, I found out that it was actually fairy magic. She held nothing too complex, and definitely seemed like she would be the easiest one to take out; I tasted an underlying magic in the last three's blood, but it was difficult to decipher, so I simply took note of it and moved on. I would be able to adjust my plan to fit whatever powers that I didn't know about when the time came.

Despite the problem these four presented, I knew that I needed to take out my mark tonight; otherwise, my take would be lowered by about half. The only reason I was in this business was for the money, so that was the last thing I wanted.

A sigh left me unintentionally as I wandered past the group of four, who were tailing my target rather obviously. I suppose it made sense, they wanted him to know that he was getting the protection he was asking for, and even though they were all preteens, they were definitely intimidating enough to scare off most attackers.

Deciding that there was nothing left exciting left to see for the day, I headed out of the fair and stripped off my childish attire. The blue and green striped dress irritated me; I had long since abandoned the idea of having any shred of innocence, but like any other occasion that I was out in public, I had to act like the eleven-year-old that I never had a chance to be.

I quickly slipped on my red tank top, with a black crop top covering it, my black skin-tight pants, and a mask that covered most of my face; this was much more revealing and attention-grabbing than my other outfit, but I was more comfortable in this than I was in any of my disguises. Now all I had to do was go to my usual supplier and pick up some supplies; I had been coming to this guy ever since I had started getting my reputation, and never once had he seen my face for my true age, that just wasn't knowledge I wanted out in the world.

The shop I was heading to had no defining characteristics, except a small mark of an eye on the door post; it was easily missed, but it was the owner's way of telling me whether or not it was safe to come in. If the eye was closed, I needed to stay away, and if it was open, I was welcome to come in; we set up this system when I first revealed that I was the Ghost of Fiore to him.

A small bell dinged when I entered, and immediately the owner, Gavin, came around the corner with his posh smile, "Ah, hello Miss Ghost, how can I help you today?"

I looked around noncommittally before activating the voice garbling lacrima in my pocket and speaking, "I need three shield lacrimas, a magic canceller, two illusion lacrimas, and my usual magic draining potion." There was no preamble, no explanation, but Gavin simply nodded and walked away which was something I appreciated about him; he knew that knowledge about my jobs would be a dangerous thing for him, so he didn't even try.

Only a few moments passed before Gavin came back into sight, carrying a bulging bag and a slip of paper with my current tab written on it, "That'll be 50,000 jewels, Miss Ghost." As he named his price I couldn't help but let a slight scoff escape me as I looked up at the tall man.

"Are you seriously giving me a discount Gavin?" He looked away slightly, a small blush coating his cheeks at my words.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, Miss Ghost. 50,000 jewels is more than fair, so will you take it or not?" His blush was gone quickly enough that if I weren't so perceptive, I might have thought I imagined it.

But I knew better.

I shook my head, and shifted my weight onto my left foot, "Gavin, if I had gone to any other dealer, this would have been at least 80,000 jewels. None of these are common materials, so if you sold them to me at 50,000 jewels, you would be losing money in the long run. Hell, you could have asked for 100,000 jewels and I wouldn't have batted an eye, so what gives?"

His shock was quickly covered by a fake cough, but he recovered quickly and allowed his cocky con artist smile to fall back in place, "Perceptive as always, Miss Ghost. Consider this to be an incentive for your continued patronage; ever since select dark groups found out that you come here, business has picked up exponentially for me. Your name carries a lot of influence in Fiore, so I am simply profiting from the controversy that follows you."

"You let people know that I come here?" All forms of entertainment dropped from my face as he said this, was he an idiot? Even the hint of my name being mentioned in many places was reason enough for dark guilds to send out an assassin to where I was rumored to have been, just in case. I approached Gavin and grabbed him by the throat, pulling him down to my height, "Do you really not understand the danger you've put both of us in? Letting anyone know about our arrangement could result in your death, then I would have to hunt down whoever killed you and take them and their guild out."

A few choking noises escaped him and he stared at me with wide fearful eyes, but I simply tightened my grip ever so slightly, trying to drive my point home, "Please know, that this is just business, if I hear about you spreading any more information, **I** will be the one killing you and leaving your body here to rot. Do that make sense Gavin?"

He nodded frantically, and I released him casually, allowing him to fall to the ground and begin hacking as air moved into his lungs again. Without another look, I picked up the bag of supplies from beside Gavin and replaced it with a large bag of jewels before I walked out of the store; the fear in his eyes was enough to tell me that I had made my point, he wouldn't be spreading rumors anytime soon.

***

Night was swiftly approaching as I set up the final preparations for my attack; if all went well, the bodyguards wouldn't even know that I had been here until it was too late. I was hoping that when morning came, the four would come to check on their employer, only to find his corpse and no sign of where I had gone.

Sadly, life was a cruel bitch, so I had several back-up plans that included an anti-magic field that I could set off with one word, two illusion traps set at strategic locations, and shield lacrimas that had a tripwire release function. Yes, there was a chance that these mages would get through all these precautions, but that's why I had my mask, dagger, longsword, and poison capsules; I was about as prepared as I could be. I would even say that I was eager to cross paths with this group.

Just in time, I managed to wipe evidence of my presence from my target's home and climb into my predetermined hiding spot. The door opened with a bang, and a very drunk man came stumbling in, followed by the four bodyguards, who looked irritated.

"Did you see that idiot's face?" My target slurred out as he stumbled around the room, "Hiring you guys was such a good decision, after this, I wouldn't be surprised if that stupid Ghost of Fiore just got cold feet and stopped trying entirely! Man, teaching pathetic people their places is what gives life it's spice!" He collapsed on a nearby couch, and I couldn't suppress the sadistic grin that made its way onto my face, it sounded like there was another attempt tonight and now the target was getting even cockier. This situation kept getting better every time I turned around.

The spark plug drew my attention as he shrugged uncomfortably, "I don't understand why you had to be so harsh with him, he was just trying to protect his daughter."

My target shook his head dismissively, "Your still too young to understand that, kid. I had to break his spirit, or he would never get that I am above him."

The smirk that had grown on my face dropped as the mages shifted uncomfortably, so another attempt wasn't made... this was something different. My thoughts were verified as the soul mage spoke.

"Boss is right, the man just trying to protect someone he cared about, you didn't have to get violent with him... or her for that matter." A guess at what happened was forming in my head, and I cringed slightly because of it.

Sadly for them, my target was starting to get irritated with the defiance of people that he deemed 'lower' than himself, "Shut your mouth, I'm paying you, so what I say goes, you got that, brat?"

It was the grass head's turn to speak, "I'm sorry, but if something like that happens again, we will step in to protect the innocent, it's our duty as Fairy Tail wizards."

The drunk man shot to his feet as well as he could, obviously stumbling and lurching awkwardly. Once he had regained his balance, he made to lunge for the grass head, but the blond spark plug stepped in his path, and knocked my target to the ground with absolutely no effort, "We may be protecting you now, but if you try to hurt my team, I will break your knees and leave you here for the Ghost of Fiore to find."

I shook my head, that would be helpful and so very satisfying, but I know their type... Honorable to the core, they would never follow through.

Just as the man was trying to get back to his feet the fairy girl stepped forward and drew the drunk's attention to her, "Sir, you should probably go to bed now, you're acting irrationally." My expectation was for the man to get even for irritated at the group because of that, but he surprised me by nodding his head and stumbling his way up the stairs after he regained his footing.

As I watched, the four wizards each groaned as the anxiety left them, all was quiet for a moment before the girl exploded, "He's such a man whore!" Her outburst made all the others smile slightly, and I had to stop myself from letting out a snort. It was such a different reaction than I was expecting, but it was so true that I just wanted to bust up laughing.

"Shut up Ever!" The grass head snapped, though I couldn't help but notice that he had a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth, "If he hears you, he'll come back and then we'll never hear the end of it!"

The four started laughing as I stayed where I was, listening to their conversation until they fell asleep; it may be a long waiting game, but in the end, it would be worth it. In the end, my target would be dead and I would be gone without a trace, as always; that is, after all, why they call me the Ghost of Fiore

 


	2. It all Goes to Shit

My footsteps were silent as I crept down the hallway towards my target's room; I had to be careful to not wake up the team from Fairy Tail, especially since one of them was a dragon slayer with exceptional senses. I had my dagger and short sword out, ready to strike in a heartbeat.   
Only a few steps now.  
The door opened, almost silently, the only sound would be a soft creak that could be easily written off as a whole slew of different things, so I wasn't too worried. As I stepped in, I reached up one hand to push my mask higher, then slid the door closed behind me. All was going well, but I still couldn't celebrate yet.  
As I approached the sleeping man, I couldn't help but gag a little at the smell of alcohol and vomit that were emanating from him; not for the first time, I thanked my lucky stars that I was killing this miserable son of a b****. My dagger raised, and I darted forward; finally, my mission would be done, and I would be paid.  
The instant before I sliced his throat open, a flash of light blinded me momentarily, causing me to rear back like a wounded snake. I sensed another attack coming my way just in time for me to roll to the side and come up into a defensive position.  
My new opponent turned out to be the blond spark plug body guard that had caused me so much trouble. G** d*** it... Outwardly, you wouldn't be able to tell anything was wrong, but internally I was using words that would make a sailor blush.  
"Where in the h*** did you come from?" He growled, moving his hands into a defensive position, waiting for a counter strike, "How did you not set off our alarms?"  
Despite my resolve, I couldn't fight a slight smirk that spread across my face, though it was covered by my mask, so it didn't really matter what my face looked like. I stayed silent for a moment and assessed my opponent; killing him wasn't an option, mainly because I wasn't being paid to kill him, it would just be an additional hassle that I didn't want to deal with.  
Our silent standoff continued for only another second before I felt energy begin to swirl around him and knew that he was about to attack. He wasn't a very patient one, was he?  
Before he could attack, I said one thing that caused the whole situation to spiral into chaos, "Wait." He froze, obviously expecting me to continue, but my word activated the first of my illusion traps; within a second, several copies of myself branched off from me, and began rushing in different directions. This was done so seamlessly, that no one would guess that it was only an illusion; I didn't just go to Gavin because he could usually keep a secret.  
Instead of running towards the window like spark plug obviously expected, if the flash of lightning that streaked towards that illusion was anything to go by; I dashed into the hallway and made my way back towards the entrance, passing by the other members of his team, that seemed to be more asleep than anything else.  
"Stop her!" The spark plug roared from behind me, and a sadistic laugh escaped me as I watched the three minions jump pathetically. The grass head let out a shout, obviously activating some kind of rune trap, because a wall of deep purple sprang up in front of me. If I had been any other type of person, I would have bounced off the wall in front of me and landed on my butt; sadly for the Fairy Tail wizards though, my immunity to mental magic ruined their carefully detailed plans.  
I wasn't able to look back to see the looks on the wizards' faces, but oh how I wished I could have! Shouts of alarm followed me down the hall as I made my way to the entrance, where the second of my defenses were set up. Right before I reached the door, I swerved to the right and lunged through a closet door standing only a meter or two away; I wasn't an idiot, I knew that I couldn't outrun someone who could turn into lightning, but I could hide.  
Yet another word set my second illusion into motion, it was another copy of me, running through the door and making its way quickly down the street. I also set off my shield charm, making it so that no one could pass though the door for a few seconds; it wasn't much, but it would secure the impression that I had gotten out of the house through the front door.  
A pain in my chest made me pause and reach down to my nearly empty satchel and grab out the flask containing a magic draining potion. It had been a few days since I had last taken some, and my magical energy was nearing a noticeable point now; so not only was it rather painful because it had been years since I let myself feel magical energy, it could also cause me to be caught. The potion went down and I had to curl into a small ball to avoid groaning, or making any other indication that I was in pain. Da** it, this crap hurt!  
Not a second after I stopped moving, the body guards burst into the room and ran to the door, where you could just see my retreating illusion running away. Not even a second had passed before the spark plug had bounced off my shield lacrima and fell to the ground.  
"Laxus!" Three voices yelled, obviously concerned that their leader had been injured, but the only response that the spark plug gave was to jump back to his feet and growl out a few curses that no one our age should know... Is that hypocritical for me to say? Yes, yes it is.   
"It looks like they put a shield lacrima up, they've done a lot of set up for this attack, far more than we've seen from anyone else on this mission." The grass head began pacing as he spoke, it sounded like he was thinking out loud more than actually meaning for the others to respond to him, but he was cut off quickly by the spark plug, who seemed done with the whole situation.  
"Freed! Enough!" The air around the spark plug literally began sparking with tension, which made some amount of sense, seeing as how 'I' was getting away while the grass head ranted.  
Before spark plug could lash out, the blue haired soul mage jumped into the situation and grabbed the grass head by the arm gently, "Freed, I know that this is interesting, but we need you to take down this shield, otherwise this person is going to get away and the threat will remain. We can think about this more after this guy has been caught."  
Despite the fact that I was technically working against these guys, I couldn't help but admire their teamwork and trust in one another. In my line of work, trust was just not something that you gave to people; giving people trust, is giving them power over you, which almost certainly will kill you.  
"No!" The grass head yelled, pushing the soul mage's hand off him, "You don't understand Bixslow, Whoever this is, they ran right through my rune barrier, they were able to sneak into our boss' room without us even realizing it, and what's worse? The fact that they had traps waiting for us shows that they've been watching us for a while, they probably know some of our strengths and weaknesses! If we go after them, we could lose, they could kill us, don't you guys get that?"  
Well d***, maybe I should have ran, by now I could almost be out of the city...  
My eyes rolled as the conversation continued, the soul magic mage and the grass head were against coming after me, and the girl and the spark plug were both ticked off that they weren't already going after me, at this rate I would be in this closet all night, and my chance of getting caught went up way too much for me to be comfortable with. I could activate my anti-magic lacrima and fight my way out, it was a long shot, but that way I would be gone before morning, but the chance that I would be caught would also be really high.  
Honestly, my best shot at escaping would be to wait here until they left, which hopefully wouldn't be too much longer, and then I would make my escape without too much interference.  
"Wait." The blond spark plug stopped the argument with one quietly spoken work, "Someone else is here."   
Sh**, I had been afraid he would hear me with his dragon slayer senses...  
"Do you think the assassin is here still?" The soul mage asked quietly, but the only response was a quiet step in my direction. Well, I guess it was on to plan C.  
Knowing that I needed the element of surprise if I wanted to make it out, I grabbed the last lacrima out of my bag and activated it taking a calming breath. Running into a fight on an adrenaline rush was a stupid idea, seeing as how disabling adrenaline is; I pushed up my mask slightly and leaned into a more convenient position as several more steps were heard, I needed to time this just right, or I could easily kill them, which was not what I was paid to do.  
When the spark plug sounded like he was about two feet away, I made my move, springing out of my coiled position and through the door and under the spark plug's arm towards his companions.  
My first target was the Fairy girl, who raised her arms to cast a spell; she only had a moment of shock and pure panic when she realized that her magic as gone before I slammed the pommel of my long sword into her temple, efficiently knocking her out. As she fell, I caught her and used her momentum to throw her into the soul mage's path, stopping him from coming my way just yet  
"Freed, what's going on! I can't feel my magic!" The spark plug yelled this with panic echoing his voice as I followed after the girl I had just thrown to take out the second out of four. Both the grass head and the spark plug were off to the side, looking at each other in fear; they must have realized how outclassed they were.  
Underneath my mask, a vicious grin covered my face; it had been a while since I had gotten into a fight like this, I had forgotten how exhilarating this was. All I really wanted to do was prolong the fight, but the longer this went, the harder the fight would get, and I needed to send my signal of completion before dawn or my pay would go down.  
By the time I started my clash with the soul mage, the others had gotten over their shock and rushing to aid their comrade. Fighting multiple people was not what I was originally trained to do, but an assassin had to be prepared for as many situations as possible.   
A deep breath in; I could sense the grass head behind me, he was swinging his rapier at me so I dropped to a crouch and rolled forward so I came up behind the soul mage. Breath out; my foot shot up and kicked him behind the knees, causing him to fall to the ground.   
Breathe in; a strong presence approached from behind and I dodged as the spark plug threw a punch at my head. As if in slow motion, I watched the fist travel past my eyes and I dropped my sword and dagger before I reached to grasp the spark plugs arm, using the momentum that he put into the throw to send him into a throw over my shoulder; breathe out.  
The spark plug went crashing into the soul mage before any of them realized what was happening, giving me enough time to drop and grab my weapons, just in time too. I barely had enough time to get a firm grasp on my weapons before I had to pivot to the side and parry a rapier strike from the grass head.  
"Freed!" The spark plug yelled out as I engaged the grass head in a brief sword fight, "We need you to figure out how to get our magic back, we'll take care of this one!" It was time to end this.  
I had an advantage over the grass head because I had two weapons compared to his one, and I was used to fighting with no magic; so, as he swiped at me once more, I trapped his rapier between my broader blades and twisted, forcing it out of his hands before getting in close and knocking him out the same way I took out their companion. Before he could fall, I got behind him and propped him up, placing my dagger against his throat and threatened the other two with my long sword that was held close to my captive's body.  
"Enough of this," I growled out, making sure to garble my voice as best I could without my distorter, "If you let me go now, no one must die; I'm okay with fighting you until the end, but that just sounds like a waste of all our time. That includes you fairy girl," A groan escaped the girl behind me at my words, "Now, if you would please come here and sit with your comrades, I won't hurt this one."  
She reluctantly did as I said and a terse stalemate began between us, though I could see the irritation rising in the spark plug's face, "Now," I said, not wanting to waste time by waiting on them, "Your employer is as good as dead, so it would be wise for you to let me go now."  
My words were more than the spark plug could take, "Now I know you're just all talk, I caught you before you could lay a finger on him, how would you have been able to kill him without touching him?" He made to stand up, but my grip on the dagger tightened, drawing a line of red against the grass head's throat.  
The slight smirk I had been wearing the whole time, one that was hidden by my mask, widened until it was a smile that was full of wicked intent. "Don't push me, spark plug." At my words, the spark plug growled, obviously not pleased by the nickname, "Sorry, but I don't monologue, you'll have to find another assassin to do that; I'll just ask this: why isn't your boss down here yet? We haven't exactly been quiet with our fight."  
Remember how I mentioned that I had poison? Well, let's just say that slitting his throat wasn't my only effort to kill the guy.  
I watched as the color drained from the group's face and sighed as I felt the grass head begin to stir, making sure not to cut the grass head any more than I already had, "So, let's get back to you guys letting me escape; I really don't want to kill your friend, you guys are pretty good at what you do, and, if we're being honest, nobody wanted that sh**head alive anyways. This whole situation seems to be pointing towards you letting me go."  
My voice may have sounded calm, but there was a deadly undercurrent when I spoke that the others obviously picked up on.  
"Why... Didn't you... Kill us?" I rolled my eyes as everyone else gasped when the grass head spoke those faltering words. I caught him looking up at me weakly, not aware of the dagger that was gently resting on his throat just yet, "You could have... Killed us... so easily... Why didn't you?"  
Curse this ridiculously observant kid, now everyone was going to think that I had a conscience, or that they could bargain with me. Others had made that mistake, many of them are dead now. "I'm not being paid to kill you, so why put in the effort?" I made my voice as nonchalant as possible then tightened my grip on the dagger, causing the grass head to gasp as I cut a line right above the one before.  
"Last chance, kids; let me go the easy way and we all walk away a little bit better for this, or you can watch this one die before I kill some else simply for taking so much of my time. What will it be, make your choice."  
I watched emotions fly across their faces, they were ticked that I had the upper hand, but I had them cornered; knowing how loyal the members of Fairy Tail usually are to their friends, I could pretty much guarentee what choice they would make. Finally, The spark plug stood up slowly and motioned with his hands, "Go, we won't attack you. Just don't hurt Freed."  
I nodded before going into a blur of motion; Freed (or the grass head) was thrown back to his comrades, and I made my way to the door, leaving quickly enough that the untrained eye couldn't follow my motions.  
***  
The street was quiet and grey, it was at that point in the morning where it seemed like everything was painted in shades of black and white; no one would have known what was going on at the largest house in the city. As I made my way towards the mountain that the city was against, I kept my senses alert, they had let me go so easily, and I knew that something was coming. My opponents weren't the type to let murderers to go unpunished; they would come for me.  
It came suddenly, a wave of energy so intense that if it had hit me, I would have been torn apart by the force of it, but I was able to roll into an alleyway just in time. That was only the first of the strikes that came for me, after that, they came so quickly and fiercely that I had no time to dodge, only run and pray that my slight magical immunity would help me get through this.  
As I rounded yet another corner at full speed, I came face to face with the fairy girl who had pulled off her glasses and was glaring at me. A form of petrification magic nipped at me, wanting to take hold and have its way with me, but my body refused. Surprise flew from her in waves as I kept moving, but I ignored it; there was no time for this, if I didn't get away now, I would be caught and eventually hanged for my crimes.  
I ran past her and slid to the side to dodge yet another lightning strike before I was forced to come to a stop. Spark plug was standing in front of me, lightning going off around him, making it evident that passing him was not an option. The soul mage was standing on the little dolls that he controlled, floating near the tops of the buildings, cutting off that escape route; the grass head was standing in the only nearby alleyway with dark wings, obviously ready for a rematch. And of course, there was the fairy girl standing behind me, obviously cutting off that escape route...  
D*** it! How did my plan turn out this wrong?!  
I recognized that I was well and truly beat; for the first, and last, time, someone had caught up to me. There was only one thing left to do. "Well da**, you guys are good." I dropped my blades and rested my hands on my hips unthreateningly, "I'll admit, if anyone had to beat me, I'm glad it was you. At least you guys know what the he** you're doing,"   
Slowly, I drew out my flair, the one that I set off to signal that a mission was completed, it was the only reason people knew about me, a ghostly eye that hung in the sky, always being followed by death; this would certainly give away my identity, but at this point, I didn't give a ****.  
"Allow me to introduce myself," I said, dipping into a deep bow, still drawing attention away from my hand, "My name is Ember Thorn, and I'm eleven. Please, include that information when you bring me to the magic council, they'll want to know the identity of the most wanted person in Fiore." Recognition was slow to dawn, but when it did, it was sharp and fearful, "How about one final trick for the road?"   
With that, my hand shot up, and I set off my flair, this was it for me, but maybe my employer would still pay me, that would be great... Sadly, that was also the last thought I had before a bolt of lightning hit me in the chest and consciousness faded.


	3. A New Start

How long passed between the time that I was knocked out and when I finally woke up, I had no clue; but I ever so slightly remember snippets of consciousness in the midst of it all. None of it made much sense, but I was able to gather that they had to keep knocking me out with the spark plug's lightning since the grass head's rune's didn't work on me. I really was hoping that I didn't end up with permanent brain damage because of this...  
Another thing I was slightly conscious of was the chains that replaced ropes around my wrist; though that was not unexpected... I probably would have thought less of them if they hadn't restrained me with something more substantial than ropes.  
A haze surrounded my brain as I approached something that resembled a more permanent state of consciousness, and I groggily tried to take in my surroundings like I always did. Unfortunately, it seemed like some of my senses were fried because of my extended state of unconsciousness, so the only thing I was aware of was a hard chair against my back and metal digging into my wrists. Oh yeah, my shoulders were already paying for this.  
I winced sharply as I tried to open my eyes, only to be met with a ridiculously bright ray of light; so even the sun was against me now, huh?  
"So, you're awake now? Sorry about the harsh treatment you've received, unfortunately, my grandson didn't have a better means of keeping you restrained." Those words were all it took for me to jerk to attention, this didn't feel like the Magic Council's headquarters... Nor did the older voice I heard sound like he was ready to sentence me to death.  
The room I was in was small, yet cozy; I was sitting in front of a desk that was covered in papers, as well as a few pictures of what looked like a huge family. Lining one of the walls was a bookshelf filled with more trinkets than books, and on the wall hung what looked like... children's drawings? The only thing that was even slightly intimidating about the room would be the tiny old man who was standing by the window, looking at me with a closed expression; yeah, this wasn't the magic council.  
Neither of us spoke, but it didn't seem to worry the old man, he seemed to be content just studying me for now; but nothing could last forever. I needed answers, and he seemed to be the one to ask. "Why am I here?" My voice was raspy from not using it for who knows how long, but the old man still heard me without a problem.  
"Do you mean why are you here as in your current predicament, or why you're here in my office rather than in jail?" his voice was still reserved, but I could see the laugh lines that covered this old man's face... He must smile a lot.  
There wasn't much motioning I could do, so I rattled my chains slightly, "Why am I here? I'm assuming you know who I am by this point, any logical person would have sent me straight to the chopping block for everything I've done."  
"Yes, well, that's still an option," He said casually, before taking a few steps towards me, "However, when my grandson contacted me and told me about you, I decided to have him bring you here. I can't, in good conscience, send a child to face the wrath of the Magic Council without talking to them first. Even if they are The Ghost of Fiore."  
Was he expecting for me give him my sob story in order to save my life? Well if that was the case, then he was in for a surprise. "What's there to talk about?" I asked, my voice harsh and my gaze never once breaking from the old man's, "I've killed more people than any other criminal in Fiore and even the dark guilds are terrified of me. Are you trying to give me a chance? Reform me? If so, give up now; it would be better for both of us." Venom seeped from me, and I couldn't help but smile viciously at how shocked the old man looked at my words.  
He approached me, sighing deeply as he lifted my chin up to look in my eyes that seemed to be glowing red, "The way you speak is reminiscent of someone three times your age; what's happened to you that caused this, I wonder?" Silence fell again as he considered me, yet I refused to give him the satisfaction of an answer. The real world wasn't kind to children, so I was forced to adapt to my circumstances, giving up any dream of being a child years ago.  
Finally, he dropped his hand, walking back to his desk with his hands behind his back, contemplating something deeply, "Ever since Laxus brought you in, I've been studying your track record, Miss Ghost, and let me tell you, that was no easy feat. Most of the information anyone has on you is hearsay, there are almost no solid facts for me to go on; even Freed was stumped when it came to your past or any reliable information about you."  
"The only fact that was consistent across all the myths was your precision. Out of all the recorded assassins in Fiore, none of them are as clean as you; usually a trail of bodies is inevitable, but every assassination that is connected to you is only one death, followed by your symbol. Your fight with the Laxus and his team supports this idea, since Freed tells me there were several opportunities for you to kill all them, even before the fight, but you chose not to. May I ask why?"  
The look on the old man's face told me that he had no intention of letting me go until he was satisfied; There was no way I would tell him about my past but telling him other things couldn't hurt. My life is forfeit anyways. "It's simple, really," I said, allowing resignation to swell in my voice, "I wasn't being paid to kill them, so why put in the effort?"  
"No, that's not it." The old man said simply, "There have been many situations where leaving others alive made your job all the more impressive, because of how skilled these people were; killing them- and yes, that includes my grandson and his team- would be the easiest way to get to your goal. If you had done so, we wouldn't be sitting here, and you would still be at large."  
G** d*** this observant old man... "A trail of bodies shows a sloppy assassin," My words mirrored the ones that had been drilled into my head by my mentor, or slave driver, depending on your definition. "Getting the attention that leaving a massacre behind brings, isn't a good thing. I lasted this long because I wasn't a huge threat to the public, I was hired to kill people with influence; if I had killed more than that, the magic council would have made finding me a priority, and I would already be in jail."   
At my words, the old man's face seemed to drain of any color, and he stuttered for a moment before forming a sentence, "I knew she would be smart, but this is terrifying..." His voice raised to a just above the volume he had been at for the fest of our conversation. "You can come in now."  
Behind me, I could feel the door open silently, and four familiar presences came into the room, well this was turning into a ******* party.  
"They've told me that your name is Ember Thorn, is that correct?" I nodded, glancing away from the old man to roll my eyes at the threatening presence of the irritated spark plug; he ego must still be sore from me nearly taking him down.  
The old man drew our attention back to him by clearing his throat, I guess I was about to find out when I would be going to the Magic Council. "I've spoken to Miss Ember, and I've made my decision..." He paused, probably for dramatic effect.  
"Out with it, old man, we don't got all day." Spark plug grumbled, and I could feel the agreement coming from his team.  
"Let me finish speaking, you brat!" The old man yelled out before calming himself, "As I was saying, I've decided that as punishment for her crimes, Miss Ember will join Fairy Tail as a part of your team! You will guide her and help her grow so that she can become an active member of society once more!"  
A shocked silence filled the room for a moment as we all absorbed what the old man said. Did he seriously want me to... Why would he be okay with this? What possessed him to give the most dangerous person in Fiore a chance for redemption? Was he insane?!  
Obviously, I wasn't the only person feeling this, as the team that the old man wanted me to join swelled with objections.  
"No way are we letting her on our team, old man!"  
"What makes you think we can trust her?"  
"She tried to kill us!"  
"But she didn't." That last comment cut everyone else off sharply, and all of us turned (or at least tried to turn) to look at the grass head that spoke quietly from the corner, "I mentioned that she had plenty of opportunities to kill us throughout our job, correct?" Nods went around the group, "I'm afraid I don't entirely understand why you want her to be on our team, but I can slightly see why you are so keen to give her a chance. I'll support you in this Master."   
Hm, it was obvious that the spark plug was the group's leader, but it seemed like the grass head provided the voice of reason; as soon as he said that he supported the old man, the rest of the group stopped arguing and simply sat in silence. Now that's an interesting dynamic.  
Sadly, I could see many holes in the old man's plan, and me being who I am, I simply had to point them out, perhaps in the hopes that they would give on this foolish idea and just get rid of me. "You know, as interesting as this plan sounds, what's there stopping me from running away? It would be foolish of you to allow me anywhere your guild members."  
The old man simply started chuckling and began to rummage in his desk drawer, "Right you are Miss Ember, but don't worry, I'm not stupid, like you seem to think I am; it took some thinking on how to make you less dangerous, but I feel like these fit the criteria quite nicely." He pulled out an assortment of bracelets, most of which looked like nothing more than a thin strip of metal with a small locking function; one of them, however, was substantially larger and had a fancy looking lacrima built in. Where these what I thought they were?  
"These are control devices used bounty hunters once they've found their target; all we have to do is put this one on you," He held up the one with the lacrima, "Then put these on ourselves, and if you venture too far from them it will send a low level electrical shock through your body, effectively paralyzing you. I have one for each of Laxus' team and me. Mine works more like a remote though, so if you try to harm your team, or otherwise take their bracelets from them, I can activate mine and you are paralyzed." He looked way too proud of his solution, though I couldn't help but silently commend him for its ingenuity.  
Not waiting for anyone else to speak, the old man jumped out of his chair and approached me, "Laxus, if you wouldn't mind taking off those chains, we'll finish this up and then go grab some food!"  
Reluctantly, the spark plug opened my restraints and I stood, groaning slightly as I stretched out my sore muscles, da** this felt good, though I knew that I would be feeling the effects of those chains for several days. The very next move I made caused the spark plug and his team to tense up, getting ready to go into battle. I crouched down in front of the old man, and reached out; I was only eleven and yet this guy only came to my waist, this this guy was short! "I don't know if you're incredibly smart or just crazy, but whatever it is... I respect it. I don't understand why you chose to give me another chance, but I guess if I had to be caught by anyone, Fairy Tail wasn't a bad option." He grabbed my outstretched wrist and snapped the bracelet on. I knew these weapons, and I had seen them in action, they could only be removed by the person who put it on, so I guess I was officially stuck with these guys for now.  
"Maybe you'll understand one day Ember, but for now, welcome to Fairy Tail."


	4. Going Home

As we walked down into the guild hall, I cautiously looked around, "Old man, how many people here know who I am?" As I've mentioned before, trusting others wasn't something that came with the territory, there was no way I could just walk down here with no idea of what was about to happen.  
I growled slightly when the old man chuckled, "Don't worry, Miss Ember, your identity is going to be kept quiet; if we told everyone who you were, the magic council would find out that you were here in a heartbeat and we'd all be in trouble. The only people who will know anything will be Laxus and his team, Miana Harper, who oversees keeping this place together, and me."  
Anxiety welled up in me, but I kept walking; it was apparent that I have very little choice in the matter now, but I didn't really expect anything different; I was still marveling at the fact that I wasn't going straight to the Magic Council for punishment, so anything was a plus compared to that.  
When we reached the main landing, my eyes widened at the sight that greeted me; all around the hall, there were people, laughing, fighting, and drinking... I had never seen anything like it before, it was all so lighthearted.  
The old man led me to a lady who looked at me kindly, "Hello dear," I almost cringed away from her at the sweetness in her voice, it was way too much... "Master Makarov told me that you're the new recruit, I hope we can grow to be good friends!"   
I nodded, doing my best to keep a neutral face and not scrunch it up in irritation like I wanted to, "Maybe."   
Miana shot an uncomfortable look at the old man, who simply shrugged and gestured, which prompted her to leave and come back a second later with a large rubber looking stamp. "This is our guild mark, where would you like it?" Perhaps it was bad of me, but I couldn't help but smirk slightly when her tone changed from sickly sweet to far more subdued... Thank God for that!  
Without a word, I moved my hair aside and pointed to my upper neck, just below my chin; it was a place that I had yet to see someone have a mark on, which surprised me. People seemed to like putting their marks in visible or weird places, like the tongue tattoo the soul mage had; I saw no reason to be any different, plus, I always liked the idea of a neck tattoo.  
The stamp was placed against my neck for a moment, and when it was pulled away, the soul mage approached me, "It matches your eyes, that looks pretty good, Ember!" He probably only approached me to break the ice, but I appreciated it, to some extent. It was weird enough to think that I was a part of a legal guild, and that's not even factoring in how I got here; I didn't want to add buddying up with the people I tried to kill to the mix.  
I slowly became aware of a glare drilling into the back of my head, though it didn't take a genius to figure out who was the one glaring. The angry spark plug (I hope you all got that, it was fairly obvious...) pulled out a piece of paper and shoved it to the grass head, "We're going on a job tomorrow, let's meet in front of the guild at dawn." His voice was full of contempt, which was amplified by the nasty look he was shooting me the whole time. Without waiting for an answer, he spun around and stormed out of the guild, leaving behind several rather confused people in his wake.  
The doors slammed shut behind him as I watched with one eyebrow raised, what a drama queen... A hand dropped on my shoulder, and I had to stop myself from lashing out on instinct, "It's okay, he'll get over it, don't take it to heart." The soul mage squeezed my shoulder reassuringly, he obviously thought I had been offended by the spark plugs actions.  
Quickly I shrugged his hand off me and turned to him, "Please don't touch me; I don't really care if the spark plug hates me, because if I were in his position, I would probably do the same." My words caused him to take a step back in slight alarm; I looked from the soul mage to the other two in turn, "I'm here because the old man decided to try and reform me, which is a horrible idea. I'll help you as much as I'm able, but don't think for a second that I'm going to do an about face and become enthusiastic about this fucking lifestyle. I'll see you in front of the guild tomorrow." Hopefully that would get my point across; I turned away from the small group who were all staring at me with shock and walked to a booth in the corner, sitting down and lying my head back against the backboard.   
The guild was a noisy bustle of life around me, and I watched the people carefully, cataloging whatever information I learned away for later use. I knew what the old man wanted, but I gave the spark plug three months before he couldn't deal with me anymore and he turned me in to the magic council; it just seemed to be his personality. Don't get me wrong, I was willing to try and make this work... This would be interesting.  
As I sat there, I couldn't help but think about what I would need to do over the next little while now that I was a part of a legal guild; first item of business would be to get back to my house and either empty it out or bring stuff back with me. My current question was whether I should break contact with Gavin and some of my other underground contacts... they could come in handy, but for right now I could afford to let it sit.  
***  
The next morning came quickly for me, as all I had done for the rest of the day was sit there and watch the guild quietly from the sidelines. I had a lot to think about, and after sleeping in the guild the night before all I wanted was to run to my temporary home to take a shower; it was amazing how just a few days of being dirty made you feel like a stranger in your own skin.  
I was sitting on the roof, watching as the city came to life, it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen; rarely in my job did I ever get the chance to just sit and watch the sun rise. It wasn't long before the first member of the spark plug's team showed up, of course it was the grass head. Next came the soul mage and the fairy girl walking together, and of course, lastly was the spark plug, looking as ticked as ever.  
I could barely hear them talking from my position above them, but I was able to get out the gist of their conversation as the spark plug approached, me.  
"She's not here yet?" That must have been the fairy girl, unless of course the soul mage had been hit where it hurts and currently sounded soprano.  
"No, I haven't seen her since last night," It was disappointing that I couldn't see their expressions, as they were standing below the ledge I was sitting near, but that didn't stop the wariness in the grass head's voice from making it to me loud and clear, "I imagine that she spent the night here, so I don't know where she'd go."  
"Well, she obviously didn't go too far, or she'd be paralyzed right now. I'd say we give her another minute."  
"Fine, we wait another minute, but that's all... If she's not here by then, we leave and let her get shocked."  
A grin crossed my face as he said this, perhaps it was time for me to come off the roof; after all, he was waiting for me oh so graciously.   
Doing my best to move without sound, I stood and backed up a couple of steps before launching myself forward. As soon as my feet left the roof, I used well practiced abilities to twist in the air into the position I needed to be in, so I could land without shattering my legs.  
A couple of shocked screams from inside the guild caught the attention of the spark plug and his team, who turned around just in time to see me hit the ground at a ridiculously fast speed. I kicked off the ground and rolled a couple times before springing back to my feet in front of the spark plug gang, "Hey, can we stop by my house before we head out? I need to grab some things."  
I swear, at that moment, my composure nearly broke; the looks on their faces was just priceless, the fairy girl and soul mage both looked like they were about to pass out from shock, while the other two were looking at me like I was a ghost who had just popped up out of the ground.  
"What?" I was working hard to keep my voice sounding as innocent as possible, "You said you were going to leave without me, so I took the quickest way down... Can we stop at my place before we get to the mission?"  
The spark plug was the first one to respond, shaking himself out of his shock, "What the hell were you thinking coming down like that?! Do you want to scare people to death?"  
Panic filled his voice, but I simply shrugged and started walking away, "I'm going to take that as a yes, my home is in Balsam Village, which in on our way. Let's go, from what I know, the train'll be leaving in fifteen minutes."  
I couldn't see it, but I knew that the rest of my team was exchanging looks as they hesitantly followed me down the street. The smile I had been wearing faded as I delved back into my own thoughts; I needed to stop at Gavin's shop along the way somewhere. It had been a while since I had my magic draining solution and I knew I would need more here soon; I could already feel my magical energy building up in my chest.  
Of course, this presented a completely new dilemma which I contemplated as we boarded the train. Did I really want this team I was assigned to, to meet my contact? Honestly, there was nothing that could go right about that scenario... Gavin's normal clients were shady at best, and the spark plug and his team were about as opposite as you could get from that.   
If anything, meeting Gavin would just give the spark plug more of a reason to not trust me... Not that I thought he should in the first place, but Fairy Tail was all that was standing between me and the magic council. Obviously, I appreciated this far more than I would incarceration, but there were a few things that probably needed to be kept away from Fairy Tail's knowledge for now.  
A tap on my shoulder brought me out of my thoughts, and I turned to the soul mage, who seemed to be the only one comfortable with touching me thus far. "We're about to Balsam Village, where exactly is your home?"   
I smiled slightly at the question, this was one thing I couldn't help but be a bit excited for, "It's not far from the train station, you'll see." No way was I giving away the surprise yet.  
The train ground to a halt and I let the way of the train with the 'Thunder God tribe' in tow... Well, most of them, the spark plug was still sitting in his chair, grimacing as though someone had just punched him in the gut.  
"Oi," I called over my shoulder, "If you don't move now, you'll be trapped on the train till the next stop." The spark plug growled at me which did nothing but make me grin slightly. I really should have left it there, but I couldn't help but push just a bit more. "Seriously, I expected more from one of the only dragon slayers around... To think I had high hopes for you."  
Despite not turning around to see how my words affected him, I could tell that he tried to lunge for me, but collapsed to his knees with the groan; the rumors about Dragon Slayers having motion sickness must be true. How interesting.  
The other stayed behind to help the spark plug get back on his feet, but I kept going; they would catch up eventually, so there is no point in waiting for them like a good little dog. I got off the train and walked to the wall of the train station, looking for the most inconspicuous trigger I owned.  
The people I had inherited the house from where obsessed with security, which made sense when you realize that they taught me everything I knew about my trade. When they first showed me the entryway for my home, I was beyond irritated, but as the years went by I grew to appreciate that and safety of my teachers paranoia.  
"What the hell are you doing." The spark plug had finally made it off the train, now it was time for the real show to begin. "Have you forgotten that we came here for you,so hurry up and get your shi-"  
I cut him off by reaching up and pressing three rocks on the wall at the same time, causing a click to come from a pillar behind me. A smile lit up my face as I turned back to the spark plug and his group, who were looking at a nearby pillar in awe. Perhaps this was a bit showy, but my teachers were careful in teaching me how to avoid attention when opening the door.  
Without another word, I walked over to the pillar that had a panel open, revealing a spiral staircase and climbed in. It was well cleaned and made so that someone like me would have no issue getting down quickly. I was about to leave sight of the station when the spark plug and his gang finally unfroze.  
"Hey! Where the hell are you going!"  
"This is incredible, there must be a lacrima connected to the two points as well as a strong enchantment to keep people from find-"  
"Oh, shut up Freed, now is so not the time to go on one of your nerd rants!"  
In that moment, I was almost glad that I was stuck with this group; I was genuinely chuckling, which is something that hadn't happened in many years.  
Sticking my head back slightly, I made eye contact with the group and waved, "If you're coming, you need to get in now, the door won't stay open forever."   
The grass head stepped forward first, with a look of unbridled excitement on his face,"May I ask where this leads?" He asked, looking like a green puppy.  
"I told you guys I had to go to my home, didn't I?" my voice was light, amusement shining through as I gestured to them again, "Now if you're coming, hurry up... Otherwise, I'll see you in 10 minutes with my stuff."   
There wasn't time to wait, so I continue down the staircase for another twenty or so feet. The other climbed in behind me reluctantly (except of course for the grass head, who probably would have gone in head first if the soul mage hadn't stopped him), which made me smile even more, especially when the fairy girl squealed at the entry panel closed.  
I reached into my bag and pulled out a light lacrima, lighting it up and passing it back to her, "Take this, it'd be better if you didn't use your magic in here."  
A three foot tall tunnel waited for us at the end of the staircase, which I climbed into without hesitation. No longer waiting to see what the others reactions were, I walked forward for a while until we reached a thick wooden door.  
Finally, it has been a rollercoaster, but I was back at the place I called home.


	5. The First Mission

Quickly, I entered the code into the door and pulled it open, stepping forward and allowing the park plug and his team to tumble unceremoniously into my home. Groans echoed from behind me as I walked away, trying my best to not look back and see their reaction. The entrance to my home truly was a grand foyer, with a black marble floor and pristine white walls; this theme continued through the rest of the underground house, along with precious artwork, furniture, and decorations; all stolen.  
Obviously this house hadn't been mine originally, if it had been, it would have been a small, two bedroom apartment that held all my weapons and the other necessities to live. Before it was mine, this home was the main base for the thieves guild I had been brought into by my mentors; and they all adored the opulence this place had.  
I walked through a living room with a full river rock fire place, to my bedroom which was at the end of a long hall that was lined on either side with rooms meant for members who were long dead. A small grin began to grow as sounds of the team's shock reached me.  
"What the hell..." This came from the spark plug, and the other's comments were not far behind.  
"Since when did she own something like this?"  
"Well, she is an assassin, it would make sense that she has plenty of money. Laxus, you need to get her to make this our new home base."  
"Oi, coal head!" The sound of thumping feet quickly caught with me before I was even halfway down the hallway, "Where the hell are you going? Don't just leave us behind in a place we don't know!"  
I looked over my shoulder with a sweet smile, "I wouldn't have to leave you behind if you weren't so slow spark plug." His face turned red at the nickname, but I ignored it and continued talking, "I'm going to my bedroom to pack a bag and take a shower, the kitchen is past the living room to the right,feel free to grab some food or look around, just don't go into any of the private rooms."  
The soul mage could be clearly heard running down the hall towards us as he yelled out to me, "Why not, Ember? This is so cool, are there still people living here? Perhaps you have the spirits of people who used to live here locked in the rooms, like the badass assassin you are!"   
His words made me stop abruptly and turn to face them, a questioning look on my face, "Where the hell did you get that idea? Keep their souls locked inside their old rooms? This is a secret base, not a mausoleum." At this, the soul mage shrugged and continued firing questions at me, but I wasn't focused on him. When I spoke, I caught a slight grin twitch at the spark plug's lips, it was the first time I had seen him smile, so I was intrigued by it.  
Honestly, he looked more like he was about to punch someone than amused, but it was still interesting. Out of the corner of my ear, I noticed the soul mage was spouting out theories now, and everything was just getting more absurd as he continued, "Stop," I held my hand up to stop him before he could get through the idea that I was somehow Satan, "I'm going to go take a shower, wait for me in the kitchen or living room and I'll answer any questions you have when I get back out, okay?" Besides the soul mage, everyone nodded and turned around to goback the way they came... Well, once again the soul mage mage seemed reluctant, but he was forced to come when the spark plug reached out and grabbed his shirt, dragging to boy along with them as he pouted like a child.  
On again, a chuckle escaped me as I watched them, they were certainly crazy, but I hadn't been so amused by someone in years, so perhaps we could get along.  
***  
The shower felt heavenly. It was one of those rare times that I could feel the dirt and grime washing out of my very soul; which, thankfully, the base had a decent water heater, which meant that I could stay under the spray as long as I wanted. My body may have been small, but it was toned in a way that few adult's were, and because of the premature toning, it tended to tense up easier; so that was just another reason that the warmth was welcome. Knots in my shoulders that were days old finally loosened.   
It took reminding myself five times that there were people waiting for me, before I could convince myself to get out.   
I grabbed a pack from my closet and began throwing enough clothes to last until I was able to either come back here, or get new ones. After that came my weapons.  
The longsword and dagger I always used were reaching the end of their lives, so I grabbed another set, almost identical to my original ones, and carefully wrapped them for travel. My sword collection was my pride and joy, and I protected my babies meticulously.  
I had stolen other weapons throughout the years, but daggers and swords were certainly my favorite; there was a certain elegance that cane from wielding a sword or dagger that just couldn't be replicated with other weapons. I displayed as many of them as I could without the room looking tacky, yet this was probably only half of my sword collection... Perhaps I was a bit obsessed, but I just couldn't walk away from a beautiful sword. It was a failing of mine.  
A smile crossed my face as I thought about all the hours that I put into training; my mentors tried to keep me to just one style of swordplay, but it was a lost cause. I insisted that I at least needed to know how to wield all the weapons I owned, just in case; two handed swords were a bit out of my league for the moment, as I didn't have big enough hands to wield them properly, but I could still fight with every single sword on the wall.  
After hiding small weapons in several places over my body, I finally left my room and headed back to the others, hoping that they had followed my instructions and stayed out of the individual rooms.   
The closer I got to the kitchen, the more I could hear little sounds that reassured me that I wasn't going to have to mop up my comrades bodies just yet; laughter and happy conversation was all I heard, so walking in to see the soul mage up on the counter top, and everyone else lounging on the bar stools was a good thing.  
"Hey, Ember!" The fairy girl jumped out of her seat and rushed over to me, "Where did you get this place? It's amazing!" The others nodded their agreement, even the spark plug, which did nothing more than make me smile, "You have to let us stay here more often, I can only imagine what the bedrooms are like!" She lunged forward, intending to pull me into a hug, but I sidestepped her and watched passively as she crashed to the floor.  
I was trying desperately to hide the smile that wanted to show when she let out a pitiful whine, a smirk was the closest I allowed, before I moved to the bar and sat heavily on one of the stools, "Don't touch me," My words were harsh, but there was no venom to my voice, "Honestly, we could stay here whenever you guys want, it's one of the most secure places in the area... Perhaps even the whole country." I didn't miss the gaping jaws at that, but I simply shrugged and kept talking, "Just give me a bit of notice beforehand, I'll need to clear out some of the rooms for you to stay in safely, and that'll be a pain in the ass in and of itself."  
My usual neutral expression finally rested back on my face as I watched the fairy girl get up from the floor; from the moment I walked in, I could tell that the grass head was literally brimming with questions, so I made eye contact with him briefly and waved from him to go ahead. He cleared his throat slightly before leaning forward, "That actually brings up a good question; Ember, you've only said a few things about this place, so what exactly is it? Is there anyone else who lives here?"  
At those questions I chuckled humorlessly, there was no way in hell I would be telling them my sob story, but I suppose a few tibits couldn't hurt, "No, no one else lives here, grass head; this place has been empty for a long time." I could see indignation rising from everyone else except the grass head at my nickname for him, but he simply shook his head and nodded for me to continue, "I was brought to this place probably around five years ago, and when I got here it was already mostly empty. My mentors were the leaders of a thieves guild that had been a pretty big deal for a while, hence why every single item here costs more than a typical small country makes in a year. From what I recall, the best of the best worked here, but as with all things, people moved on and the guild was only the smallest fraction of it's usual self when I got here."  
"I told you to stay out of the individual rooms because the people here were thieves, trust is a difficult commodity to come by in this profession, and it wasn't uncommon for people to boobytrap their rooms. When I first got here, I made the mistake of looking in a room I shouldn't have, and I paid the consequences." After saying that, I pulled the neckline on my shirt down slightly, just enough to show off the large scar that ran across my shoulder, "That's why if you want to look around, make sure you either stick to where you know is safe, or come and get me, I can deal with any of the stupid shit that people have set up around here."  
Quiet filled the room as everyone stared at me in disbelief, "Where... Where were you before you came here?" The soul mage asked this hesitantly, though I couldn't be too surprised, I was a hardcore assassin, and they found out I had been brought into this guild at a ridiculously young age. There was really no way my past was roses and butterflies.  
My voice turned stern and my eyes sharpened as I looked at the soul mage, "That, is none of your business." He flinched away before nodding quickly and looking at the ground, "Before we leave, do you guys need any supplies or weapons?" My voice had turned business-like, indicating that their time for questions was done for the day. I received four "No"'s and nodded, "So what's the job?"  
The spark plug was the one who answered, "We have a job here, apparently there's been a string of kidnappings, which we've been asked to solve. Guests of the spa go out for a walk and then never come back, there isn't much we know besides that."  
I nodded, mulling over the limited information we had, "It's here you said?" They nodded, and a sadistic chuckle came out quietly, "These people are ballsy, I'll give them that. The Guild here kept the crime rate low here, because no one wanted to deal with petty criminals on their days off. The guild is gone, but I've kept an eye on the crime rate, it's remained low, so these people must have decided that it would be easy pickings for them..." I stood suddenly and walked to the foyer, "Let's go, the train station should be empty right about now, so if we're lucky, we might be able to get out of the entrance without waiting. We wouldn't want to keep the mayor waiting, now would we."  
***  
The mayor seemed to be a cheerful guy, he welcomed us into his office with a smile and shook everyone's hand enthusiastically, "You must be the group from Fairy Tail I've heard so much about, welcome! Come in and make yourselves at home!" He reached out to shake each of our hands heartily, which about put me over the edge.   
When the man got close to me, I shifted behind the soul mage as much as I could. Normally the only reason I would be here would be to kill this guy, but... I wasn't... I was here to protect him, which I wasn't sure how to handle.  
"I'm sure that you'll want to get down to business, so take a seat and we'll discuss the job." He seemed to realize that I wasn't comfortable with the hand shake, as he entirely skipped me in his hurry to shake everyone's hand, and instead walked to his desk, sitting down heavily.  
I perched on the edge of an armchair, not knowing how to relax in that moment as he started talking, "You've come at a rather grave time, thus far we've had about twenty kidnappings in the space of only two weeks; it's gotten to the point where most of the spa owners are considering shutting down to avoid being caught in a scandal. You have to understand, this is a town that survives because of tourism, if we loose that, then we lose everything. For that reason, this situation needs to be taken care of as quickly as possible."  
The grass head nodded solemnly and leaned forward in his chair, "What information can you give up on the kidnappings? Anything will help."  
The mayor nodded thoughtfully and pulled it a thick folder from his desk, "This is all the information we've been able to gather on the ones abducted." He tried to hand it to the grass head, but I intercepted, my hand shooting out and snatching the folder before anyone else could take it. Analyzing people's profiles was something I excelled in (Granted, it was usually only to profile one person for weaknesses, rather than profile a bunch of people to look for similarities, but how hard could it be?), so I ignored the stunned looks and began flipping through the pages while the mayor hesitantly began speaking again.  
I tuned him out, looking at the papers in front of me with a small scowl on my face, "Is this everything?" I burst out, interrupting the discussion that was still going on around me.  
"Yes, why?" The mayor was making an effort to sound cordial, but I could tell he was struggling, even though I kept my eyes on the files.  
"Because," My voice was slightly waspish as I looked up at him, "This information is nothing more than a list of names, pictures, and the date when they were kidnapped. You said they were all guests, so I can see why some information would be limited, but what about magical powers, a list of relatives, anything useful to making connections between everyone."   
If looks could kill, I would be dead right then because of the look I was being given (Ha, that's a laugh, I had looked down some of the most intimidating people out there, this guy was practically a puppy comparatively, but he was trying.), the mayor leaned forward and steepled his fingers, "Sorry Miss, that is what you'll have to work with, we aren't in the habit of giving out personal information to any random guild member who comes through our door. That's is what we have, so that's what you'll have to work with."  
Oh, this guy was just begging for me to plant my shoe in his ass, wasn't he... "Oh... I get it," Sarcasm laced my voice as I leaned forward to match his position, "I'm sure your guests will be so happy to know that their privacy is protected... To bad you're endangering their lives to do it, don't worry, I'm sure they'll be understanding when they're kidnapped next."   
A venomous smile spread across my face as the mayors face reddened, the team were all given me looks of horror that were screaming for me to shut up, but let it never be said that I was a quitter. This was fun!  
"How dare you, we are trying to be cooperative, yet you waltz into town, acting as though you know better than us; learn respect, brat, or I'll teach it to you."  
He said this so seriously that I just wanted to laugh, yeah, I probably looked a bit unimpressive, being eleven and all, but he seriously thought that this was a good idea, "Mhm," My tone had reached a whole new level of condescending as my smile widened to the point it looked slightly demented, "You think you can teach me a lesson? Perhaps after I come back from saving all the people you're asking me for help to find, I'll take you up on that. Though, at that point, you may just be more inclined take a lesson from me, since you are a miserable little shit; I can't wait to hear you grovel."   
The mayor shot out of his chair, his face looking as though it was going to pop at any moment; though I was pulled away from what was likely going to be a beautiful explosion by someone, likely one of the team. We left the room with the grass head apologizing for my behavior as we went. I snorted slightly and pulled my arm out of the spark plug's grasp.  
"Ember!" A sharp voice made me pause slightly, "You can't just say things like that! There was still information we could have gotten from him!" The grass head jogged slightly to get ahead of me and stopped in the middle of the hall, forcing me to stop as well, "Even worse, you being rude to him could cause him to dock our pay."  
The spark plug growled and I cocked my eyebrow, "So, you're mad that I stopped us from getting information from him, but not that I just insulted the little slug?"   
The fairy girl snorted slightly, and shifted her weight to one side, "Of course we're not mad about that, the dude was so patronizing, he needed taken down a peg; but I swear Ember, I need the pay for shop- I mean rent... yeah, rent... And if I don't get it, it will be so irritating!"  
The soul mage chuckled slightly besides me as the grass head sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Listen, he could have told us where the kidnappings have been occurring, as well as a few other things that are important; next time, just... try, to keep that in mind before you speak, please?"  
I nodded reluctantly, dealing with people was so much more irritating than working alone.  
The spark plug walked past me with a huff, "Well, there's no use complaining about it now; let's go examine what we have and come up with a plan. Coal head, could we head back to your place to examine everything?" Without waiting for a response, he continued on his way, leaving us to catch up. Coal head was a stupid nickname, but I couldn't complain, spark plug wasn't much better, and I had no intent of changing it, even if I did remember his name eventually.  
"Oh Grass head?" I said, nudging him slightly as we walked, "I think I can figure out where these guys are kidnapping people, don't worry, we have all the information we need."  
The grass head nodded before whipping his head to look at me, apparently it took a bit for him to realize what I had just said, "If you could figure it out, then why did you push the mayor?!" Irritation and disbelief filled his voice as it broke slightly, sending it up about an octave.  
I shrugged, grinning maliciously, "It seemed fun."


	6. A Spinoff Guild

Most people in their right mind would probably avoid a forest where a large amount of kidnappings have taken place; especially at night. Though, I think it's been pretty well established that 'in my right mind' would be a terrible way to describe me and my sanity, so of course I was out here around midnight, it's what any less than sane and possible psychopath would do.  
For the most part, I had been impressed with the plan the grass head and spark plug came up with (the grass head was now attempting to get me to call him by his name, but I forgot what it was only a minute after being reminded, so there's that). The plan was to send the only member of the group who had any skill with infiltration and espionage, me, out into a popular place for kidnapping, and then hope that the criminals took the bait.   
Like I said, I was fine with all of that, my magical presence was still relatively low and I had the best chance of getting back out even if everything went to shit; but then the bastards had to throw a wrench into the plan. I growled softly as I walked down the dark path in my ridiculously puffy, pastel purple dress. My hands clenched by my side, just itching to tear this stupid dress apart. Both the soul mage and the fairy girl insisted on this being part of the deception; according to their fucked up logic, this dress made me look more innocent and helpless.  
I did my best to counter argue that an 11 year old being out in a dangerous forest at night was already pretty suspicious, but in the end logic was overruled by idiocy, and I was forced into this fabric monstrosity while being threatened with electrocution if I ruined their plans.  
The rest of the team was apparently following behind me as stealthily as they knew how, though I insisted on them being as far away as possible to increase our chances that the kidnappers wouldn't pick up on the most obvious trap since ever. While that was happening, I did my best to form a relatively passable smile to replace the feral look that my face had naturally adopted (Once again, fairy girl's idea... Something about it making me look less threatening).  
I was pulled out of my thoughts by the underbrush rustling about 10 meters ahead of me. Outwardly, I showed no indication of hearing anything, but I was groaning and rolling my eyes on the inside. It was pretty obvious that there was an ambush waiting for me ahead; in fact, it was amazing that these criminals had managed to kidnap anyone at all, this was just so sloppy.  
Judging by the shadows, there were probably two large men hiding on either side of the path with some kind of dart gun, waiting for me to get in place before taking me out without any fuss. I couldn't fault the idea, as far as concepts go, this one would probably worked well if the leaders hadn't chosen total meatheads to do the job.  
Unfortunately, it was my job to keep walking and pretend that whatever I was about to be hit with actually affected me. This is where things got tricky, my blood naturally repelled foreign substances before they could take affect, so I had no way of knowing if this was something that was designed to knock me out, simply paralyse me, or if it was meant to mess with me in some other way. The smartest plan would be to drop to the ground and play dead for right now, but it was a risk non the less.  
As expected, the dart hit my neck and I could feel some form of magic trying to take over... Was this magic, or just a sedative? I swatted my neck, and looked at the small bit of blood that came out while trying to analyze the whatever it was. I honestly hadn't needed to analyze magic that was actively trying to control me before, so I gave up on that line of investigation and simply dropped to the ground after swaying for a second.  
"Hey boss,did you see that? This one dropped like a rock, no one's done that before!" One of the goons stepped out from the bush and gestured wildly to the other person. I cursed quietly under my breath as they approached; how did I just know I would get it wrong. At this point my only option was to stick with my facade... Well, that, or I could just kill these two now and use whatever evidence I found on their bodies to find the base, but something told me that my the team I was with would be less than happy with that idea.  
Another rustle told me that the other meathead had come out of his bush, "Hmph, what a hassle," I knew as soon as I heard this new dude's voice that I hated him. He had a nasally, pinched voice that felt like sandpaper against my ears. A foot nudged against my side, rolling me to face the light of their lantern, "This one looks young, maybe the dart affected her differently. Whatever it is, it should be fine, she's going to end up with everyone else anyways. Grab her and we'll head back."  
End up with everyone else? The urge to scrunch up my eyebrows was strong; If they were killing the people who were kidnapped, that would answer a few questions I had, but what was the purpose? If I was being honest, this mission was starting to remind me of one of my first major assassination contracts; I saw things that night that no human should see, especially not a eight year old.  
I was picked up roughly and draped across one of the guys shoulders before the two began to head off. There were so many things to pay attention too, but I did my best to focus on where they were heading... Well, trying to do it was the most I could do. As an assassin, I had a huge range of skills at my disposal, and if we we're in town, I probably would be able to tell where we we're going fairly well; sadly, I hated forests because I could never keep my sense of direction in them.  
If I needed to escape, I would probably be able to make my way back to town... Probably.  
As much as I hated to admit it, it was a good thing that the team was following us; death by getting lost in the woods would be a pitiful way to go. The men kept talking, but I heard nothing of importance so I focused on keeping my body limp and not tensing up with every rough step.  
***  
After walking for a while, I was carried into a cave and dropped unceremoniously to the floor; receiving a swift kick to the side to wake me up.  
"Come on you useless girl," the voice was rough, as though he spent his whole day inhaling noxious smoke, "That damn drug should have worn off by now, if Kanate screwed up the dose I'll wring his scrawny little neck." If all I had to go by was the force of this man's kick alone, it would've been pretty easy to tell that this guy had no qualms about hurting me; so I began to stir.  
I groaned as I reached down to cup my now wounded side, and groggily opened my eyes. If I could snigger right now without arousing suspicion, I would have; it had been too long since I had infiltrates a place like this. I missed fooling with people so thoroughly that they practically threw themselves at me to kill.  
My eyes widened almost comically, and I sat up, allowing myself to look around the room in fear, "Where... Where am I?" It seemed I was in a small cavern, just large enough to be a storage closet. There were more large crates than I had time to count, and one too many ugly meatheads. "Who are, are you?"  
My voice went up in pitch as I slowly began to 'realize' what had happened; a sadistic look of glee was growing on the meathead, and I scoffed internally. The poor baby though he was scary, I needed to remind myself to teach him a lesson in sadistic intent before I left.  
The meathead stopped down a bit so he would be closer to my face, "Well then, your awake doll face, I was worried we had killed you for a little bit. It's too bad we can't sell a pretty little thing like you right now. I bet you'd fetch us a pretty penny." I gasped and scrambled away from him until my back hit a crate.  
Thankfully, I didn't have to bust any heads just yet, because a voice could be heard from the other side of a flimsy door, "Hey idiot, would you stop creeping on the girl and actually do your job!"  
"Yeah! Just get her ready so we can move on. If we get yelled at by the boss cause of you, I'm making you take all the blame, you hear me!"   
A few other yells could be heard, and this time I couldn't help but grin while the meathead's attention was diverted; so this wasn't the first time the idiot had pulled crap like this, huh? He sounded so popular with his comrades.  
The meathead straightened and glared at the door, "I'm working on it, alright?" He sighed as he threw a bundle of clothes at me, "Those idiots, always ruining my fun. Put this crap on, okay, and don't try nothing or I'll kill you where you stand."  
If this guy expected a complaint or for me to beg for my freedom, he was sorely mistaken. The instant I saw that real clothes were in this bundle, I had already torn away the horrible clothes the fairy girl and soul mage forced me into with more vicious glee than was probably wise, given my situation.  
In under a minute, I was in the sackcloth clothes and out the door, trying my damnedest to keep up a scared prisoner persona, rather than just looking way too pleased with myself. As I exited the storage shed, my captor rushed out after me, "Hey, wait, what the hell! Get back here!"   
Well shit... I grimaced slightly as I looked back and cowered away from the big man, what a rookie mistake. Honestly, if I had made mistakes like that while my mentors were around, I would probably be dead; they would've killed me.  
"I, I'm so so-sorry!" I stuttered out as I covered my face with my arms protectively, "Don't hurt me, I just, I just wanted to get this over with! Please let me go home!" A small look of satisfaction crawled over the meathead's face at my desperate plea.  
"Go home?" Once again he began leaning in towards me, "Doll face, you're never going home again. It'd be better for you if you got that through your head." I cringed away and whimpered, but otherwise, I did nothing; suppressing the urger to slam this idiot's face into the wall hard enough to crack his skull... No, Ember, control yourself... Find the target, take it out. This wasn't the time for unnecessary kills.  
I was pushed roughly down the hall by one of his cohorts, who swooped in and pulled me from him; muttering something about the job being made harder by the pervert. A statement which, if I hadn't been struggling to stay in character before, would have certainly done it. I really wanted to laugh, but instead I settled for biting the inside of my cheek and walking down the hallway like the cowed dog I wanted then to believe I was.  
Before long, the noises of a crowd reached us, though they certainly weren't the normal sounds one would associate with large crowds of people. Instead of chatter and the sound of everyday life, the sounds I head sounded suspiciously like chains dragging along the rock floor, and feet shuffling slowly.  
A particularly harsh shove sent me sprawling into the room, so I didn't get a look at what was going on until I was able to push myself up. People were milling about the room with all sorts of mining items in threadbare clothes, pickaxes and wheelbarrows were common, though there were quite a few people who were loading rocks into a large contraption by hand.  
The thing that drew my eye the most though, was their feet. Most people did seem to have rags wrapped around their feet as a form of protection; however, I was unable to spot a single pair of feet that were not bloodied in some way. The lucky ones only had a few blood patches that seemed to have been caused by blisters bursting, the unlucky ones didn't even have foot rags... They were the ones forced to walk around leaving bloody footprints behind them. Obviously, dropping rocks wasn't an uncommon occurrence.  
It felt like forever that I sat there staring at the prisoners feet, yet only a brief second passed before the man who shoved me into the room grabbed me by the neck and lifted me up. I struggled against him momentarily before he snapped something around my neck and dropped me, walking away without a care.  
I coughed desperately for a moment, backing up against the wall so I could examine what the idiot had done. It seemed he had given me a metal collar. Runes we're carved into the edges, though I had no idea what they were supposed to do.  
If this was the best these idiots could muster, then I would be out of here quicker than I thought.  
"So you're the newest recruit?" I looked up hesitantly to see yet another meathead standing in front of me, a look of irritation on his face, "From the looks of you, you aren't even 13. How do they expect me to get done witg my job if they keep giving me shitty workers!"  
"Take this and follow me." He threw a pickaxe at me, which I managed to grab before it split my skull in two, before walking away. This obviously wasn't a patient man. I hurried after his as best I could just in time to hear him speak, "You'll be mining sector four. If you have questions, ask one of the other people there and don't waste time. Do anything against the rules and you'll be punished. You look like you can barely swing that pickaxe, but I suppose you'll have to do." He stopped at a seemingly random patch of wall and gestured at me, "The only way to stay alive here is to work, if you do anything to get yourself killed, it's no skin off my back, but idiots like you seem to have a high survival instinct, which is good for business. Now get to work, and I don't want to see you slacking off."  
Just like that, he left, leaving me to stare at the patch of wall he showed me with so many questions... Was this really their operation? It was like they wanted someone to stop them, but for at least a minute or two I would pretend to follow orders... At least, I would until I found out how they kept the captives in line, after that, all bets were off.


	7. The Bigger they Are...

Section Four had only one other person mining it, swinging their pickax with what could only be described as apathy. The back of them looked like a young adult, they had long, ratty orange hair, and a rather masculine build. Not muscular, per say, but simply wider... It could have easily been a girl, but... I didn't want to guess. "Excuse me?" I asked the person hesitantly, drooping to the side sluggishly in the hopes of appearing like a weak young girl. The person's pickaxe stopped midswing (which, I'll be honest, impressed me. It's not easy to stop anything midswing, let alone something as heavy and awkwardly shaped as a pickaxe), and they slowly turned to face me. The person, now revealed to be a beautifully feminine man, stood there staring at me, blinking owlishly as though it didn't quite register that someone just spoke to him. I cleared my throat as we continued to stare at each other; normally, I would be more than willing to wait for him to decide to speak first, but if we stayed this way for much longer, we could draw the attention of one of the meatheads, which was the last thing I wanted, "Sorry, but I was told to ask someone for directions." I sniffed slightly as I struggled to pick up the pickaxe, "I don't understand what's going on, can you help me?" Finally, the man was able to break out of his shock and he nodded quickly before dropping down to my level, causing me to grit my teeth... People doing that to me was my biggest pet peeve, hands down. "They got a young thing like you? Have these people no morals?" Keep calm Ember... I'm acting vulnerable, don't react. This man has been kidnapped just like everyone else here, planting a foot in his face would not be helpful... "Please sir," My voice wobbled dangerously as I looked up at the man with doe eyes (God damn this mission), "I was told that I would be punished if I didn't work. Please, please, I don't want t-to get hurt. What do I need to do?" The man stared at me again for a moment before pulling me into a hug, "I'm so sorry my dear, don't worry about a thing, just stick with me and I'll make sure you don't get hurt, okay?" Now there was a promise he couldn't keep. Quickly he stood up and looked around, "We need to get to work before the guards see us, come, just hit the wall with your pickaxe and try to knock rocks loose." To keep up the act of a small innocent little girl, I swung weakly at the wall as I stood next to the guy, who was watching me carefully; probably to give me tips when I would surely need them. As I swung a second time, I looked up at the man, I needed to get answers without seeming suspicious... There was a severe limit to the questions I could ask for now. "Um," I started carefully, feigning a wince as my pickaxe hit the wall again, "What are we looking for? Does anyone even know?" The man shook his head, brushing the long orange hair out of his face as he also swung his pickaxe with as much enthusiasm as he had when I first saw him, "They don't tell us anything," He laughed humorlessly, "Not that we expect them to, that would be a bit dumb to tell prisoners what your looking for I suppose, but I have been able to learn a few things in the time I've been here." I rolled my eyes slightly at the obvious conversation bait, "How long have you been here?" Honestly, it couldn't have been too long, as the earliest kidnapping had only been two weeks ago. His feet weren't bloody enough to have been here longer than a week, so that was my guess. His eyes widened at my question, and I couldn't help but wince at the panic in his eyes at that... His time here had not been kind to him, he twisted until he was kneeling in front of me as he grabbed my shoulders firmly, "You need to be careful with those questions, ask too much and the overseers will punish you. Promise me you won't ask personal questions!" I nodded numbly and he sighed, standing back up and grabbing his pickaxe again, "There isn't much to know about the process here, there aren't a ton of us, so the overseers have split us into three groups; one for mining, one for sifting, and one for transportation. It's really self-explanatory, so don't worry too much about the details. We mine, the transportation people bring the rocks we mine to the sifters, and the sifters sift everything and put it in the machine over there in the corner; that's the whole process, simple right?" That was certainly not helpful. I could have learned the same things by watching the operation for a few minutes... What could I ask to draw answers out of this rather gunshy individual? "Wh-what happens when we mess up?" I asked, shaking out my hand after another strike, "You said we would get punished, what happens?" The man sighed slightly and ran his hand through his hair again, "I suppose you should know... It's nearly impossible to not mess up at least once a day here. I don't know the specifics, I just know it's these collars; they shock you if you are inactive for too long or talking about your life outside of this place... It's really terrible." His voice dropped dramatically while he was speaking, so by the time he got to the last sentence, I could barely hear him, yet the pain in his voice was clearly audible through it all. Damn this job. I was a coldblooded assassin, my job was to kill a target with no remorse, not begin to care about the people who were being hurt. I didn't want this responsibility! I sighed slightly, if the collars were responsible for doling out punishment rather than the guards then that made my job a little bit easier. There was only one thing I needed to know now, I just had to hope that this man, whose name I didn't even know, would be willing to answer a really suspicious question. "What do you think happens to the rocks after they are put in the machine?" I blurted out, causing the man to look at me with something like horror on his face. A slightly buzzing came from the collar, but I ignored it for the moment, "It has to go somewhere, what do you think they do with it?" The man before me seemed to be doing an excellent impersonation of a piece of paper, his face was completely white and he looked as though he could be pushed over with the slightest breeze, "Wh-what?! No! That's not allowed! Don't say anymore or you'll be punished!" My finger worked it's way beneath the collar as I tugged on it lazily, "Sorry, I'll make this quick, is there anywhere you are not allowed to go, or you get shocked if you go near?" My 180 personality switch took the man way off balance, and he simply stood there stuttering as his pickaxe dropped to the ground. I grinned slightly at his reaction, but still... If he stood there much longer, he would get shocked, and that was the last thing I wanted, "Hurry up, keep gaping at me like a fish and the collar will get to you before you can answer." "Y-you... You..." Shit, it seemed as though I broke him. The moments went by, and eventually, he pulled himself together enough to raise a finger to point at a nondescript door next to the machine, "That door... It's forbidden." Finally, I had the answers I needed, this farce could end and I could kick in the face of everyone in this stupid guild. I walked away from the girly man, who had probably mentioned his name at some point, ignoring his call for me to wait, to come back, blah, blah, blah. It was incredible luck that I found the one person who had a loose tongue here, thanks to him, everyone would be able to go home now. To hell with waiting for the rest of the team. I made my way to the supposedly forbidden door and kicked it down with a smirk as I felt the collar around my neck begin to buzz slightly again. This collar had nothing on the grass head's runes, and the grass head's runes had nothing on me, so it was easy to guess who would come out on top here. I stepped into the darkness and shut the door behind me, not expecting the horror that was behind it. As soon as my eyes adjusted, the smirk dropped from my lips as I took in the bodies that were strung up like pinatas... Each of the people had odd tubes sticking out of them, which were thankfully opaque so I couldn't see what substance was being put into them. Besides the traumatizing scene in front of me, there were also phoenix's carved all over the room, and even into some of the people. That alone was all I needed to see to know that I was dealing with Novus Ordo, the same guild I had wiped out years earlier. The same guild that was working on human experimentation... Normally, I only ever killed the person I was being paid to kill during a job, it was a hard an fast rule I lived by; but Novus Ordo forced me to go against that vow for this exact reason. People were being subjected to horrible things then too, and if experience had taught me anything, it was that these poor people would probably not survive being taken off whatever substance they were being injected with. My glare held a certain amount of demonic intent as my anger grew, this was too much; heads rolled years ago when I saw this crap, and heads were going to roll now, there was no way I would allow anyone to get out of here alive after this. The pickaxe I kept with me was the first to hit its target, it went straight into the machine that was supplying the mystery substance. I grimaced as a terrible grinding sound reached my ears, but continued forward, pulling a small knife out from my chest wrap (Not that I needed one at my age, but wearing it was a handy trick my mentors taught me. It was a place people never usually thought to look and it was perfectly acceptable to freak out if someone tried to search it) and approached the people hanging from the ceiling. I made quick work of the ropes and did my best to support the bodies as they dropped to the ground; getting a closer look only served to increase my anger, these people had obviously been badly abused, if this was anything like the original Novus Ordo, the substance was specifically designed to keep the victims hovering between life and death. Though, the function of the substance remained a mystery, for now; no doubt it was something designed to make a 'more perfect mage' as they seemed to enjoy doing. Only a moment passed as I checked the vitals of the victims before the door opened with a bang. I looked over my shoulder casually, not at all surprised to see a group of meathead's staring at me. "How in the hell did you get in here?!" On of them called to me angrily as I eased away from the victims, hopefully I was able to get them out of the danger zone in the upcoming fight. The group of thugs entered in and shut the door behind them and I noticed a few that I recognized from earlier. Like the one who kicked me while waking me up. Maybe the world was finally realizing some of the hell I had gone through and was trying to give me an early Christmas present. A smirk grew on my face as I evaluated the group before me, all of whom had swords and armor and were looking rather cocky, "What?" I simpered, "Do you feel intimidated that this little girl was able to get past your flimsy defenses?" I flipped my knife so I was holding it backwards as settled into a good combat position, "Honestly, you should be more careful about who you abduct." Without any more hesitation, I sprang forward, towards he person who brought me here. No one seemed to realize that I had moved yet, so I ducked in close and dug my short blade into the man's stomach before twisting it slightly. He yelled out in pain and moved to punch at me, but I was faster than him, My hand covered his on the sword hilt, and I leaned in close, "You wouldn't mind if I borrowed this, would you?" Without waiting for an answer, I grabbed a finger and twisted it back, causing him to drop the sword as I threw an elbow to his nose. The man reeled back, leaving me to stare evilly at the remaining ten or so men, "If you want to run now, I'll let you." The sword was on the ground next to me, and I stared at the group, just waiting for the next attack. Silence fell for a moment as we waited, but like anything good, all things must come to an end. Several people charged at me with a yell and I dropped to the ground to avoid their blows, grabbing the sword just in time to parry a swing that came from one of the female meatheads. Waiting now would likely end up in me getting hurt or killed, so I knew I had to approach this quickly, so I dodged one or two more swings before leaning forward to stomp my foot as hard as I could on her instep. She gasped and threw herself away from me, but I wasn't done. I followed after her and swung my sword, striking mostly the leather armor, but hitting enough skin to cause the girl to screech as she grabbed her shoulder, where the most damage had been done. Swiftly, I followed after her, ducking a swing from another person as I spun around and clocked her in the temple with my knee, knocking her out immediately. I lunged forward and grabbed her sword from off the ground, reaching up just in time to bury my first sword deep into my next attackers thigh muscle. He let out a girly scream, but I ignored him as I stood, an inhuman grin covering my face as I pulled the sword out of the man's leg. he collapsed to one knee immediately, but my concern was no longer with him. "I just took out three people in the space of a few seconds, if you stay, I can't promise you'll all survive." A whistle rang through the air briefly and I flinched, a small dribble of blood running down my cheek. One of these morons had his arm extended, it was probably a knife that missed it's target. "Too bad," I once again shifted into a battle ready position, "You just chose death." *** Laxus, Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen came sprinting into the cave system with mixed looks on their faces; one or two looked rather panicked, another seemed to be having the time of his life, and the fourth was very clearly pissed off. they had been watching the situation for a bit now, using some runes that Freed placed on the bracelet Ember was wearing. They had seen her interrogate the miner, but as soon as she went through the door, the connection with her cut off, and none of them knew what could be happening. It was rare that Freed's runes were beat by someone, but whatever enchantment was on this room was the real deal; they needed to get to Ember, and fast. There were one or two guards at the entryway that were easy to take out, and as they went in, they were unable to see anyone, which struck them as odd. Where could everyone have gone? By the time they reached the main cavern with the majority of the workers, they still had seen almost no one, and were stopped by a group of the prisoners, "Who are you guys?" Several people were calling out to the young mages, but Laxus only growled as he headed in the direction their spy had disappeared to. "If Coal head's gotten herself killed, I swear..." He faded out, but his scowl was frightening enough to cause several people to dive out of his way in terror. Laxus was aware that his comrades would probably be better at handling these people who had been treated so badly. As he stomped to the door, a hand grabbed his shoulder,, causing him to glare up at the man they had seen talking to the coal head, "Kid, you have to go help that girl," The man's voice was urgent and quiet, still shaking from the after effects of a shock, "She went through that door, so she was probably shocked, and after she went in, a group of the guards went in after her!" "I know she was more than she seemed, but there were a lot of guards! She could be dead right now!" Laxus' eyes sharpened at the man, this dude was serious? All the chaos going on around them and he was worried for some girl he had known for less than ten minutes? Laxus sighed slightly as he turned back towards the door and pulled his arm out of the man's grip, "If that coal head gets beaten by only a few thugs like this, then its her own damn fault. You should go get that collar removed before it shocks you again idiot." He continued on, but before he could reach the door, it opened, and Ember appeared, covered in blood with a sadistic smile on her face, and dragging a half dead thug behind her. "We could probably get some good information from this one." Her voice was completely normal sounding, despite the bloodlust blazing in her eyes, and Laxus unconsciously took a step back, "Don't go in there now, everyone's dead, so there's no point." She dropped the guard and began to walk away towards a side tunnel as she rubbed the blood on her sword onto her already bloodstained tunic, "I have some hunting to do, so don't follow me, I'll be back when I've found him." Sense returned to Laxus just before she left, and he sped in front of her using his lightning form, "No." He had his arms crossed, but his muscles were tensed, obviously ready for a fight, "You need to stay here. As a member of Fairy Tail, you have an obligation to help these people; besides," His scowl deepened as he met Ember's sadistic gaze, "You're a member of Fairy Tail now, and Fairy's don't kill." Before Laxus was even able to blink, he had been pushed up against the wall, and Ember stood only a few inches from him on her tip toes so she could look him in the eyes, fury and resolve slashing as they stared each other down. "I can't do that spark plug," Ember ground out, "If we let the leader go, then we'll dealing with this same job in a matter of months. There's no way I'm letting that shit bag out of here alive. Do you know why half of the people in that room are dead?" Laxus didn't even bother to try and respond, it was evident that the coal head was too worked up now to let him get a word in edgewise, "Human experimentation, Novus Ordo has been trying to create a 'more perfect mage' for several years, and once again, there are casualties to their ambitions." Freed had been approaching the two to see if Ember wanted her collar off, but when he heard those words he froze. "I dealt with these people a couple of years ago, and none of them survived, somehow memory of them remained, and some douchebag decided it would be a good idea to pick up where they left off. Sorry, Spark plug, but this is more important than whatever ideals you have about your guild." She let go of Laxus' collar as she spun around to go hunt, but was stopped once again, but this time it was by Freed, "Um, sorry," His voice was quiet, meek almost, "I just wanted to see if I could take your collar off now, that way you won't have to fight the shocks anymore." Ember evaluated him for a second and shook her head, "I don't fight the runes consciously, Grass Head, my body does it instinctively. Take care of everyone else first, get them medical attention and send them home. I'm going hunting." "Freed." Ember looked at the grass head questioningly for a second as he spoke, "My name is Freed, and I'll keep reminding you about that until you remember to call me by my name, okay Ember?" She chuckled as he spoke, "Whatever you want, grass head." Her pace was brisk as she walked down the hall, readying her blades again. Freed watched her go with something akin to a smile in his eyes before turning to where Laxus was... Or at least, where he had been... "Boss?" *** Back with Ember, her movements were stealthy, she could hear someone down the hall, hopefully it would be the leader, she was ready to go home and take another shower, only a second passed before she heard a second set of footsteps approaching her from behind. She spun around with her swords at the ready, one pointing at the adams apple of... "Spark plug?!" Her hiss could be heard halfway down the hall, yet neither of them seemed to care too terribly much as he pushed the tip of her sword aside and kept walking. "Are we going," He called out, allowing a bit of electricity to spark in his palm, "There's no way I'm letting you kill the guy, but that doesn't mean I don't want to see him rotting in a prison cell for the rest of his life, so I'm going with you." Shock reverberated down Embers spine. Going with her? What?! Like... A partner? Quickly, she forced herself out of her stupor and caught up with him, casting him a sidelong glance as they went. So this was her new team, huh? Interesting.


	8. Revenge

You know, one would think that the spark plug and I had an intense battle with the leader of Novus Ordo after that; but, in the end, almost the opposite ended up happening.   
We found the sniveling coward hiding under a desk in what seemed to be his office... I wanted more than anything to pound the man's face into the ground, but the spark plug was able to hold me back; instead, the man ended up with two black eyes and a broken nose. If I'm probably being honest, it was probably a good thing I didn't end up murdering that idiot, because the rune knights showed up not too long after that.  
I grinned slightly as I leaned back against the grassy slope I had been sitting on. That had been my first mission with the Thunder God Tribe, and boy had it been amusing. Granted, I was chewed out afterward for killing the meatheads by both Freed and the old man, but it was the start of a long, long partnership.   
It was probably a year before the old man would let me take off my shock bracelets and a year after that before he would let me work on my own.   
Honestly, I hadn't been discouraged by that fact; after all, I had been Fiore's most wanted for a long time before Fairy Tail adopted me, it was only common sense to make sure I was closely watched. In the two years that I ran with the Thunder God Tribe, we became close. Closer than I thought I would ever be with other people.  
Like me, they seemed to be against spending a lot of time in the guild hall, so I only got the occasional glimpse of other, more insane, guildmates. One might say I was isolated, but I disagree, I had four people I could talk freely with, they accepted me for who I was, even after I asked to leave their team.  
Eight years.  
I sighed as I covered my eyes, thinking of all that had happened. Normally I wouldn't dwell on the past like this, but today was the eight-year anniversary of when the Thunder God Tribe met, and beat the shit out of me.  
I had been going solo for the majority of my time here, keeping up the antisocial habits I appreciated, except where the Thunder God Tribe was concerned. Speaking of which, I needed to get this job done today or I would miss a 'mandatory' shopping trip with Evergreen and Bickslow; she got extremely cranky if I blew her off in favor of taking another job.  
I groaned as I sat up, after that, I was going home, taking a shower, and going to sleep. As was my habit, I tended to take multiple jobs and not sleep until they were completed, which was something Freed tended to get on me about, but as with many other things, I tried my best to ignore him.  
A ripple of pops rang out as I stretched, all I had left to do in this job was to hunt down a small group of monsters that had been terrorizing the people here. Honestly, this was a low profile job, but I didn't mind... too much.  
The jobs I could usually get were usually just a little too easy for me, but I refused to admit to that damn spark plug that he had a point about me needing to become S-class. He was so lofty about the fact that he was above me, class-wise, even if he had yet to beat me in a one on one fight.  
Yeah, the missions were usually pretty easy, but becoming S-class required actually hanging around the guild for longer than a few minutes at a time... That wasn't a commitment I was willing to make.  
My train of thought was cut off by the chain around my neck beginning to buzz, which startled me more than I cared to admit. I only wore the lacrima in case Freed or the old man needed to get in touch with me, but neither of them had ever done so, it was a precaution, and nothing more.  
I pulled it out gently and tapped it to initiate the link, "... Who are you?" The image in front of me was that of a young lady, probably my age or a little younger, who I was sure I had never seen before... At least, I was pretty sure of that fact.   
The woman was looking around nervously as she bit her lower lip, from what I could see behind her, it appeared that she was standing in a basement of some kind, maybe the guild basement?  
"Are, are you the reluctant fairy?" Her voice was high pitched and rather irritating but rang no bells as to whether or not I knew her.   
The reluctant fairy? Why did that name sound familiar? I looked at her for a moment, trying to recall... Oh, wait! That was the name that had been given to me by the idiot reporter who tracked me down for an interview! Somehow he had found me clear up in the north by the border, and continued trying to interview me even after I threw him into a lake that I had been near!  
I smiled slightly at that, so the nickname stuck, had it? "Yeah, that's me," I responded to the white-haired lady with a small smirk, sitting back down as I did so, it was obvious that this would be a long conversation. "Who are you and why are you calling from the old man's lacrima?  
"Oh, well..." She hesitated slightly and I watched her closely, red, tearstained eyes... she definitely had been crying recently, "The guild is under attack!" She said this as quickly as she could, apparently, she thought I would turn her down right out of the gate.  
I couldn't help but scowl as I thought about why she might think that.  
"Why did you contact me?" My voice was brusque and business-like, this was the first time I had been contacted for a matter like this, I was curious, sue me.  
The woman shifted uncomfortably and began avoiding eye contact even more heavily, "You are the only other person we can contact to help right now. Master was injured during the initial attack, and we have no way to contact Mystogen or Gildarts," She sighed heavily, and all I could do was blink at her, completely confused. Gildarts? Mystogen? Who the fuck were they?  
"Okay, so let me get this straight," I shifted slightly as I thought about the little I had been told, "Fairy Tail is under attack by someone who took out the old man, and you are coming to me because you couldn't contact anyone else and the spark plug was being a dick. Is that about right?"  
Her head tilted slightly as confusion spilled from her like a volcano, "Sparkplug?"  
"Yeah, the idiot, Laxus, you tried to get in contact with him before me, didn't you? That's why you were hesitant to mention his name earlier." One look was all it took to confirm my suspicion, "I suppose I could come, don't worry, I'm not an asshole like him. I actually hate the idea that someone decided to hurt the old man, so I'll head that way now."  
I stood once again and looked at the lacrima one last time, "Quick question, who're the idiots that decided to attack you?"  
"Phantom Lord," Her squeaky voice rang out and I froze.   
It was no secret that I was terrible with any form of a name, but this was one I knew... At least, I knew the guild master; Jose. I suppose you could call him an old acquaintance of mine.   
"Hey squeaky," I didn't look down as I said this, my voice was strained, and I didn't want Miss squeaky here to see the tension that was obvious in my face.  
"Squeaky?! Are you talk-"  
I cut her off before she could finish, "I need to make a quick stop before I head back to the guild, but I should be there in a little under a day, you think you can hold out that long?"   
"Um, yeah, Miss Fairy, what is it you need to do?"   
My grip around the lacrima was getting to the point where I was afraid I would break it if I didn't let go soon, "That has nothing to do with you, squeaky, just hold out until I get there."   
With that, I cut the connection and forced my fingers to drop the lacrima, which landed with a soft thud in the grass. So this idiot was stirring up trouble, was he? Visiting the home of a former client couldn't really be all that bad, could it? It might just remind him of his place in the pecking order of things.  
***  
The guild hall for Phantom Lord stood proudly before me, sounds of cheerful chatter coming from inside, but my intentions didn't match the happy atmosphere this place was giving off right now. I had every intention of cracking some heads together, bonus points if it was Jose's head that ended up on the chopping block.  
I swung the door open gently and slid inside, it was one of those days that everyone was so involved with themselves that they couldn't be bothered to notice someone coming in. Not that I blamed them, more often than not, I was doing the same thing; it was all in knowing when you could benefit from people's inattention.  
See, if someone were trying to pull a fast one on a person with my reflexes, they would have to act in a specific manner, because I tended to case everyone in the room before I even considered lowering my guard, and even then, I was always aware of my surroundings.   
These people, on the other hand, seemed completely oblivious to the world outside their own little bubble, which was a dangerous habit to get in when you were in the habit of attacking other guilds.  
Swiftly I approached the nearest person, a man sitting with a small group, chattering happily about driving the fairies off, and pasted a large, happy smile on my face as I tapped his shoulder. He turned around and glared at me hotly for a moment before I spoke, "I'm so sorry to bug you, but your guild master wouldn't happen to be here, would he?" My voice was high enough to lose its usual disinterested tone, and I batted my eyelashes. Perhaps this wasn't necessary, but god was it fun.  
When I spoke his glare was slowly replaced by a surprised look that had hints of a blush, "Oh, um, sorry, the guild master isn't here now. I'm, I'm so sorry." He stammered out and my smile widened slightly, though I was careful to keep it from reaching the creepy range.  
"Oh, that's too bad," I simpered as I leaned forward slightly, resting a hand on the table next to him. By this time he had fully turned around on the bench and seemed to be getting over his shock, "I really needed to talk to him about something, do you by chance know where he went?"  
I watched happily as his adam's apple bobbed slightly and a bead of sweat rolled down his temple, it only took a moment for his to formulate a rather strategic response, "Sorry, I don't know where he went," he was lying, "But if you want, I can keep you company until he comes back."  
By now he had begun leaning closer to me in an obvious attempt to seduce me, heh, this really was too much fun, but I didn't have too much more time to play, "That's sure sweet of you, but unfortunately, I have to go pretty quick. Would you mind terribly if I left you a message for him?"  
I leaned forward and wrapped a hand around the back of his neck, I was well aware that we had gained the attention of almost everyone in the hall, but the show was just beginning. The man nodded mutely, and I allowed my grin to change ever so slightly into its natural sadistic form, "Would you let him know..." I paused for dramatic effect as I leaned forward until my lips touched his ear, "That he really needs to be more careful who he picks a fight with."  
I drew back just long enough to see shock in the man's eyes before I tightened my grip around his neck and jerked his face to meet the solid table.  
A cry of pain rang through the now silent guild hall, yet I still kept the man pinned to the table. I stood up and looked around the room, sadism practically oozing from me, "Your master made a big mistake by attacking Fairy Tail, would you all be so kind as to inform him of that for me?"  
Outrage came from the people before me and several people began to call out things like, "We ain't afraid of no weak fairies!" "Who do you think you are, you bitch?" and my personal favorite, "Why should we be afraid of a pansy like you?"  
I looked around and released the man I had pinned to the table before spinning my leg around to hit his side, sending him hurling into a group of people about ten feet away, "Why should you be afraid of me? Well, before you all rush to attack me for hurting your comrade, consider this; why would a solitary person come walking into a guild full of enemies? Am I insane, or do I have the skills to back up my threat?"  
Honestly, I could have waited for them to make the first move, but my train left in about an hour, so I needed to get going. The first thing I did was reach into my pocket and activate a certain lacrima as I was speaking before I lunged towards the closest group of people.  
As I was moving, pulled my sheathed swords from off my hip and swung, connecting the pommel with the nearest skull. Counter attacks came quickly, but more cries filled the room as the people nearest to me realized they couldn't use their magic... Yeah, Gavin was still a close partner of mine, if you couldn't tell.  
By staying in the middle of a large crowd, I was protected from any magical retaliation from people outside the anti-magic field, and the people inside it couldn't fight to their full efficiency, seeing as how we were all in such close quarters.  
I, on the other hand, was surrounded by targets, so no matter who I hit, it was a win. I ducked under a fist and allowed the person to take out one of their own friends while striking another with the flat side of my sword.  
The whole room had descended into absolute chaos, this situation should be impossible for me to make it out of unharmed, let alone on the winning end of everything.   
A stray fist or foot connected with me here or there, so yeah, I would have a few bruises by the time I was done, but that was tame compared to their injuries. A black eye here, kicked in front teeth there; more than one person was getting out of this with broken bones or gashes that would require stitches.  
Blood specked me slowly as I dodged and weaved my way around the room, allowing my instincts and my natural immunity to caster magic to work for me.  
I wasn't concerned with taking out every opponent, I just wanted to take out enough to make a point, enough to show Jose that he should not have hurt someone I cared about. Another stray fist connected with my jaw and I grimaced, jumping onto the shoulders the person who hit me and throwing my weight backward so they fell.  
As I rose to my feet, I couldn't help but snigger slightly at the group of ten or so people who hadn't yet fled or decided to play dead as they laid on the ground, "So, just you guys huh?" They winced in unison as I stepped closer, "Perhaps nullifying your magic was a bit excessive, but do you guys think Jose will get the point I was trying to make?"  
Their faces were priceless, full of fear and a healthy dose of confusion, one of them spoke, apparently, they had silently elected him to be the spokesperson for them, as well as the scapegoat if I decided to attack again, "We don't k-know what point you, you were trying to make," His voice broke as he spoke and everyone flinched, "Please don't hurt us."  
"You don't need to know my point," I said cockily, glancing at the watch I kept in my pants pocket, "Oh, Shit!" I only had ten minutes before my train was supposed to leave; leaving behind the utterly confused group, I sprinted out of the guild hall towards the station.  
Perhaps I could call the spark plug while on the train, though the brawl had done wonders for any aggravation I felt towards him, so maybe not.  
***  
Laxus' face swam into view as I sat on the train, staring intently at my lacrima, "Well, would you look at what the cat dragged in," He drawled lazily, "What, did you finally stick your face in a blender like I've been telling you to do?"  
I deadpanned at that, "Real classy, spark plug," He snickers and I clicked my tongue, what an immature shit head, "Honestly, it's your fault I'm in this mess. I just went and beat up Phantom Lord's main guild to send a message to the old man's attacker, are you really that pathetic that you couldn't defend his honor when he needed it?"  
A sharp growl erupted from him, "Watch it, coal head, I don't owe anything to that pathetic guild. They got themselves into this mess, they can get themselves out of it; I don't give a damn who gets hurt."  
"Oh, grow up you oversized piece of shit," Perhaps it was sad, but this was a pretty common conversation for us, "I hope you realize that you're going to die sad and alone if you keep that stick up your ass."  
Laxus had been a bit of a dick when we first met, but the years had not been kind to him; now he always had this 'holier than thou' attitude about him, and it never failed to piss me off. He wasn't wrong when he said that he was stronger than nearly everyone in Fairy Tail, but the way he had been acting lately was ridiculous, it was no wonder we couldn't get along anymore.  
"Like you're one to talk," His drawl grated on my ears, "What? Are you actually going to help those weaklings out now? I thought you had more class than that."  
I quirked my eyebrow and smirked at him in the way that I knew always ticked him off, "Well, sparkplug, I may not have class, but at least I know I've beaten your ass. Perhaps you should wait to insult people until you can back your words up; I mean, honestly, if having class makes me an emotionally stunted child like you, then I don't want class."  
I could practically feel the explosion coming as I cut the connection between lacrimas and leaned back in my chair. Sure, I was walking into a possible battlezone with comrades I've never even met before, but talking to the spark plug never failed to help me vent some stress


	9. The Fight Begins

The Guild Hall was trashed, and I hated it. normally when I came, the banner was waving gently in the predawn light, well, it was either then or the dead of the night when I came, so either way, the place was empty. I had only made the mistake of coming back when it was crowded when I was a part of Laxus' team, and we always stuck to the outskirts and avoided attention.   
Anyways... Where was I? Oh, right, the banner of the guild always hung proudly over the entrance, and I wasn't afraid to admit that seeing it come into view as I walked through the town was one of my favorite parts of being here. I always felt like I was being welcomed home when I came here, which was a bit of a novelty for me in the beginning.  
Because of that, seeing it in its current state, with poles sticking through it like a pin cushion and the guild's banner hanging from only one pole as it drooped sadly, was enough to make me want to hunt the bastard who did this and commit some good old-fashioned homicide.  
Instead of walking into the building's entrance, like normal, I walked around to the back and went downstairs, doubting that the main floor would be usable in its current state. The noise coming from down here was minimal as well though, making me doubt that I was in the right place at first. Either my memory was completely wrong, or the people who usually came here were actually being quiet for once. That, may I add, was a frightening thought in and of itself...  
As I slipped into the basement, I was even more shocked; instead of a brawl or any form of action, everyone seemed to be sitting at makeshift tables, staring solemnly at the only two people who were standing up. One was a pink haired boy with a black and white scarf, and the other was a black haired boy, who seemed to not be wearing any clothes... Wait, what?!   
The longer I looked at the situation, the weirder it became, and when you add to that the fact that was was a blond chick crying in the corner and a bunch of really intimidating women glaring at the two boys fighting, oh, and how could I forget the blue cat that was just flying above the two; everything put together made the whole situation extremely surreal...  
As I looked around, I finally found the woman who had contacted me on the lacrima and began making my way to her, perhaps she could help explain what in the world was happening. Normally I would use my rather exceptional sneaking skills to get around the edge of the room without being noticed, but I supposed that wasn't why I was here. If all I wanted was to not be noticed, I shouldn't have come in the first place.  
Instead, I began weaving my way around the outskirts, gathering more eyes as I went; eyes began to gather on me the further I went and I grimaced... The center of attention was the worst possible place to be.  
I was so close to making it, I could have called out and squeaky would have heard me perfectly, but no, the obnoxious looking pink head stepped into my way as he glared at me. Believe me, I understood the hesitation, I mean, their guild had just been attacked and here I was, a stranger, walking through them, but still, this was beyond irritating.  
"Who are you?" The pinkette finally asked the question that I could tell was on everyone's mind as he stood with his arms crossed and a protective scowl on his face.  
I sighed, this was not fun, could they really not see the guild mark on my neck? It's not like I hid it. "Ember, Squeaky over there called me to help out."  
The pinkette stared at me, swelling up slightly like a balloon, irritation growing; why? I wasn't sure, all I had done was tell him I was there to help, was he going to...? Yeah, he was.  
Without much trouble, I caught the fist that had been thrown at me, the flames bouncing harmlessly off my skin as my blood repelled the magic, "Are you sure you want to start a fight with someone of unknown power who came to help at the request of your guildmate?" My tone was dull, completely disinterested as I stared at the boy, "Also," I added in as an afterthought, "You'd get more power into your punch if you used a proper stance, try shifting your right leg back next time as you wind up, it'll help a lot."  
Everyone was now staring at me with gaping jaws, apparently, it wasn't often that people came in and caught this boy's fist... Or was it that I was giving him fighting advice? Either way, there wasn't time for this crap, if Jose wasn't here already, then he would be here soon, and I didn't want to be in the dark still when he arrived.  
Without another thought, I pushed the pinkette aside before walking forward to squeaky, who was looking up at me with a mixture of concern and surprise on her face, "So squeaky," I started out, "You called for me and I'm here, care to fill me in?"  
"Yes, of course, Miss Fairy, would you like a drink while I explain?" Huh, her voice was even more irritating in person than it was over the lacrima, also, what was with the sweet girl act? I could tell there was something she was hiding, but it's not like it was the right time or place to dig...  
I walked to the nearest table as she brought a glass of some drink to me, every eye was still on me, but at least this time they were trying to be discrete about it. Well, most of them were except the pinkette and the black haired guy he was staring down when I got here.  
"So," My voice cut through the silence like a knife as I took a swig of the drink... Beer, good stuff too, "How about you tell me the general situation, cliff notes version, I doubt that it'll take Jose any longer than an hour to get here."  
The whole guild seemed to inhale all at once, though I could see the blond girl in the back beginning to cry when she heard that, just how was she involved here?  
"How do you know that?" Someone called out, which made me smile slightly, remembering the fight. It wasn't as good as a fist fight with the spark plug, but it was certainly the highlight of my day.  
Perhaps my smile became a little too sadistic because one or two people began to step back, "Oh, I just came from Phantom Lord's guild hall, I needed a message to be passed on to Jose, and the members of his guild were generous enough to help me out." Silence fell, I think some of them were about to protest the fact that I was a traitor, but I raised my hand, regaining their attention just in time, "No more explanations from me, fill me in so I know how to help."  
Squeaky nodded and began to explain the situation, about how the blond girl was a member of the Heatfilia family, whose father was paying Phantom Lord to bring her back, and Phantom Lord wanted to extort the Heartfilia family for money and power, which totally sounded like something Jose would do. Apparently, they had already kidnapped the blond chick once, but she jumped out of a tower to escape and was rescued by the pinkette.  
I nodded thoughtfully as I stared at the blond chick, she was obviously at the center of everything, and Jose was probably using this as an excuse to take care of a rival guild. This was all making sense, but there was one thing I needed to know before I could get started.  
"How's the old man?" I asked, making sure to keep my face blank.  
The mood in the room immediately became a bit more solemn as everyone looked at the floor sadly. Squeaky sighed and shook her head, "Sadly, it's not looking good, he had all the magical energy drained from him, which was a big shock to his system. Porlyusica's with him now, but even she isn't too hopeful."   
Shit. Porlyusica was another one of those names I had forced myself to learn, and to know that she wasn't hopeful was terrifying. I understood how much it sucks to have your magical energy drained, but even so, the old man was ancient, even if he was strong he could still break easier than any of us younger people.  
"Cool," I said swiftly before I stood up and stretched, "I know everything I need to know, I'll stick with the blonde chick, so you guys'll probably want to get ready for his initial attack." People all around me were glaring as I said that, but I ignored them and walked to the blond chick in question, who was looking more than a little intimidated, "Wait for me here, blonde, I'm going to go see the old man and then we can move out."  
I turned towards the stares, but before I could get anywhere a hand grabbed the back of my crop top, causing me to turn around and glare lightly at the redhead with a rather threatening look on her face. If she was challenging me to a glare off, then she had better be ready to go against a pro.   
I quirked my eyebrow at her as her hair covered her eyes, "If you're just here to play, then you should leave. We don't need people around here who think this is a game. We will be fighting with everything we have, so I expect you to do the same if you choose to fight by our side."  
Hmm, so she fancied herself a leader, did she? Brave girl. I patted her head and allowed my eyes to soften slightly as I stared at her, "Don't worry about me, Fairy Tail is just as much my home as it is yours." Even I was a bit surprised by the gentleness of my voice. I hadn't heard it this soft since... No! Bad Ember! Now was not the time for memories like that. Ugh, so much reminiscing today.   
I shook out of her grip and continued to the stairs that led to the infirmary, if Jose did what I was thinking, I would be pretty useless in the initial attack, due to my lack of magic, but I would head out soon, I had my old flair, and I had my dagger and longsword, I was prepared for almost anything they could throw at me.  
***  
Porlyusica looked up as I opened the door gently and walked in grinning wryly at the woman who probably hated me more than she hated anyone else. At one point, she pulled me off a mission because of a minor injury, so in retaliation, I began to send people with even the smallest infirmities to her house in the woods, which was her place of refuge where she could be away from everyone.   
Heh, I'm not sure that anyone had seen her shout as much as she did when she confronted me about it. It really was a sight to behold, the usually calm and cynical old lady yelling at a young teenager, who really could care less. I enjoyed it but stopped telling people about her after that, I didn't want her to poison me the next time I needed her assistance.  
"Hey, Ma'am," I said with a small smile, grinning wider as she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.  
"Why are you here Ember?" She said crossly, facing back towards the old man, who was as pale as a ghost as he laid there. I gulped, the smile dropping from my face at that, I didn't like seeing him like this, it was way to real... Far too scary.  
I slowly forced a grin back onto my face as I responded, "Isn't it obvious?"   
She nodded slightly and moved aside, allowing me to approach him, "Squeaky told me that he might not make it, is that true?" I knelt by his side as she sighed again, I knew they were old friends, so this was probably just as hard, if not harder for her than it was for all of us.  
"Who knows," She shifted slightly and I couldn't help but stiffen as I felt her hand rest on my head. This was the first time she had ever initiated contact, at least as far back as I could remember, so shocked was a bit of an understatement for what I felt. "His body isn't reacting well to the lack of magical energy, so right now it could go either way as far as I'm concerned; it all depends on the next few hours."  
I nodded slightly and placed my hand over his, "You better not die on me, old man," I murmured quietly, ignoring how the room went dark for a few moments in favor of placing my forehead on the bed, "I still have to bring the spark plug back, remember? Besides, you're the one who brought me into this damn guild, I won't be able to forgive you if you leave me like this."  
The light returned to the room as I stood, Phantom Lord's initial attack must be over, so now I could enter the scene. I walked out with only a nod towards the old woman, which was more than sufficient.  
My next move would either help us win the battle, or I would be condemning everyone, including myself. It was a risky move, but I needed to get Jose to take me seriously, and this was the only sure fire way I could think of to make it work.


	10. Black Steel

The Guild Hall was trashed, and I hated it. normally when I came, the banner was waving gently in the predawn light, well, it was either then or the dead of the night when I came, so either way, the place was empty. I had only made the mistake of coming back when it was crowded when I was a part of Laxus' team, and we always stuck to the outskirts and avoided attention.   
Anyways... Where was I? Oh, right, the banner of the guild always hung proudly over the entrance, and I wasn't afraid to admit that seeing it come into view as I walked through the town was one of my favorite parts of being here. I always felt like I was being welcomed home when I came here, which was a bit of a novelty for me in the beginning.  
Because of that, seeing it in its current state, with poles sticking through it like a pin cushion and the guild's banner hanging from only one pole as it drooped sadly, was enough to make me want to hunt the bastard who did this and commit some good old-fashioned homicide.  
Instead of walking into the building's entrance, like normal, I walked around to the back and went downstairs, doubting that the main floor would be usable in its current state. The noise coming from down here was minimal as well though, making me doubt that I was in the right place at first. Either my memory was completely wrong, or the people who usually came here were actually being quiet for once. That, may I add, was a frightening thought in and of itself...  
As I slipped into the basement, I was even more shocked; instead of a brawl or any form of action, everyone seemed to be sitting at makeshift tables, staring solemnly at the only two people who were standing up. One was a pink haired boy with a black and white scarf, and the other was a black haired boy, who seemed to not be wearing any clothes... Wait, what?!   
The longer I looked at the situation, the weirder it became, and when you add to that the fact that was was a blond chick crying in the corner and a bunch of really intimidating women glaring at the two boys fighting, oh, and how could I forget the blue cat that was just flying above the two; everything put together made the whole situation extremely surreal...  
As I looked around, I finally found the woman who had contacted me on the lacrima and began making my way to her, perhaps she could help explain what in the world was happening. Normally I would use my rather exceptional sneaking skills to get around the edge of the room without being noticed, but I supposed that wasn't why I was here. If all I wanted was to not be noticed, I shouldn't have come in the first place.  
Instead, I began weaving my way around the outskirts, gathering more eyes as I went; eyes began to gather on me the further I went and I grimaced... The center of attention was the worst possible place to be.  
I was so close to making it, I could have called out and squeaky would have heard me perfectly, but no, the obnoxious looking pink head stepped into my way as he glared at me. Believe me, I understood the hesitation, I mean, their guild had just been attacked and here I was, a stranger, walking through them, but still, this was beyond irritating.  
"Who are you?" The pinkette finally asked the question that I could tell was on everyone's mind as he stood with his arms crossed and a protective scowl on his face.  
I sighed, this was not fun, could they really not see the guild mark on my neck? It's not like I hid it. "Ember, Squeaky over there called me to help out."  
The pinkette stared at me, swelling up slightly like a balloon, irritation growing; why? I wasn't sure, all I had done was tell him I was there to help, was he going to...? Yeah, he was.  
Without much trouble, I caught the fist that had been thrown at me, the flames bouncing harmlessly off my skin as my blood repelled the magic, "Are you sure you want to start a fight with someone of unknown power who came to help at the request of your guildmate?" My tone was dull, completely disinterested as I stared at the boy, "Also," I added in as an afterthought, "You'd get more power into your punch if you used a proper stance, try shifting your right leg back next time as you wind up, it'll help a lot."  
Everyone was now staring at me with gaping jaws, apparently, it wasn't often that people came in and caught this boy's fist... Or was it that I was giving him fighting advice? Either way, there wasn't time for this crap, if Jose wasn't here already, then he would be here soon, and I didn't want to be in the dark still when he arrived.  
Without another thought, I pushed the pinkette aside before walking forward to squeaky, who was looking up at me with a mixture of concern and surprise on her face, "So squeaky," I started out, "You called for me and I'm here, care to fill me in?"  
"Yes, of course, Miss Fairy, would you like a drink while I explain?" Huh, her voice was even more irritating in person than it was over the lacrima, also, what was with the sweet girl act? I could tell there was something she was hiding, but it's not like it was the right time or place to dig...  
I walked to the nearest table as she brought a glass of some drink to me, every eye was still on me, but at least this time they were trying to be discrete about it. Well, most of them were except the pinkette and the black haired guy he was staring down when I got here.  
"So," My voice cut through the silence like a knife as I took a swig of the drink... Beer, good stuff too, "How about you tell me the general situation, cliff notes version, I doubt that it'll take Jose any longer than an hour to get here."  
The whole guild seemed to inhale all at once, though I could see the blond girl in the back beginning to cry when she heard that, just how was she involved here?  
"How do you know that?" Someone called out, which made me smile slightly, remembering the fight. It wasn't as good as a fist fight with the spark plug, but it was certainly the highlight of my day.  
Perhaps my smile became a little too sadistic because one or two people began to step back, "Oh, I just came from Phantom Lord's guild hall, I needed a message to be passed on to Jose, and the members of his guild were generous enough to help me out." Silence fell, I think some of them were about to protest the fact that I was a traitor, but I raised my hand, regaining their attention just in time, "No more explanations from me, fill me in so I know how to help."  
Squeaky nodded and began to explain the situation, about how the blond girl was a member of the Heatfilia family, whose father was paying Phantom Lord to bring her back, and Phantom Lord wanted to extort the Heartfilia family for money and power, which totally sounded like something Jose would do. Apparently, they had already kidnapped the blond chick once, but she jumped out of a tower to escape and was rescued by the pinkette.  
I nodded thoughtfully as I stared at the blond chick, she was obviously at the center of everything, and Jose was probably using this as an excuse to take care of a rival guild. This was all making sense, but there was one thing I needed to know before I could get started.  
"How's the old man?" I asked, making sure to keep my face blank.  
The mood in the room immediately became a bit more solemn as everyone looked at the floor sadly. Squeaky sighed and shook her head, "Sadly, it's not looking good, he had all the magical energy drained from him, which was a big shock to his system. Porlyusica's with him now, but even she isn't too hopeful."   
Shit. Porlyusica was another one of those names I had forced myself to learn, and to know that she wasn't hopeful was terrifying. I understood how much it sucks to have your magical energy drained, but even so, the old man was ancient, even if he was strong he could still break easier than any of us younger people.  
"Cool," I said swiftly before I stood up and stretched, "I know everything I need to know, I'll stick with the blonde chick, so you guys'll probably want to get ready for his initial attack." People all around me were glaring as I said that, but I ignored them and walked to the blond chick in question, who was looking more than a little intimidated, "Wait for me here, blonde, I'm going to go see the old man and then we can move out."  
I turned towards the stares, but before I could get anywhere a hand grabbed the back of my crop top, causing me to turn around and glare lightly at the redhead with a rather threatening look on her face. If she was challenging me to a glare off, then she had better be ready to go against a pro.   
I quirked my eyebrow at her as her hair covered her eyes, "If you're just here to play, then you should leave. We don't need people around here who think this is a game. We will be fighting with everything we have, so I expect you to do the same if you choose to fight by our side."  
Hmm, so she fancied herself a leader, did she? Brave girl. I patted her head and allowed my eyes to soften slightly as I stared at her, "Don't worry about me, Fairy Tail is just as much my home as it is yours." Even I was a bit surprised by the gentleness of my voice. I hadn't heard it this soft since... No! Bad Ember! Now was not the time for memories like that. Ugh, so much reminiscing today.   
I shook out of her grip and continued to the stairs that led to the infirmary, if Jose did what I was thinking, I would be pretty useless in the initial attack, due to my lack of magic, but I would head out soon, I had my old flair, and I had my dagger and longsword, I was prepared for almost anything they could throw at me.  
***  
Porlyusica looked up as I opened the door gently and walked in grinning wryly at the woman who probably hated me more than she hated anyone else. At one point, she pulled me off a mission because of a minor injury, so in retaliation, I began to send people with even the smallest infirmities to her house in the woods, which was her place of refuge where she could be away from everyone.   
Heh, I'm not sure that anyone had seen her shout as much as she did when she confronted me about it. It really was a sight to behold, the usually calm and cynical old lady yelling at a young teenager, who really could care less. I enjoyed it but stopped telling people about her after that, I didn't want her to poison me the next time I needed her assistance.  
"Hey, Ma'am," I said with a small smile, grinning wider as she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.  
"Why are you here Ember?" She said crossly, facing back towards the old man, who was as pale as a ghost as he laid there. I gulped, the smile dropping from my face at that, I didn't like seeing him like this, it was way to real... Far too scary.  
I slowly forced a grin back onto my face as I responded, "Isn't it obvious?"   
She nodded slightly and moved aside, allowing me to approach him, "Squeaky told me that he might not make it, is that true?" I knelt by his side as she sighed again, I knew they were old friends, so this was probably just as hard, if not harder for her than it was for all of us.  
"Who knows," She shifted slightly and I couldn't help but stiffen as I felt her hand rest on my head. This was the first time she had ever initiated contact, at least as far back as I could remember, so shocked was a bit of an understatement for what I felt. "His body isn't reacting well to the lack of magical energy, so right now it could go either way as far as I'm concerned; it all depends on the next few hours."  
I nodded slightly and placed my hand over his, "You better not die on me, old man," I murmured quietly, ignoring how the room went dark for a few moments in favor of placing my forehead on the bed, "I still have to bring the spark plug back, remember? Besides, you're the one who brought me into this damn guild, I won't be able to forgive you if you leave me like this."  
The light returned to the room as I stood, Phantom Lord's initial attack must be over, so now I could enter the scene. I walked out with only a nod towards the old woman, which was more than sufficient.  
My next move would either help us win the battle, or I would be condemning everyone, including myself. It was a risky move, but I needed to get Jose to take me seriously, and this was the only sure fire way I could think of to make it work.


	11. Overconfidence

It took some convincing, but eventually, we had boarded Phantom Lord's machine, which was huge and shaped like some badass mechanical villain... Impressive, but I had my doubts about the effectiveness of this whole thing.  
As we were walking, I leaned down to the blonde and whispered in her ear quietly enough to prevent even the sharp-eared dragon slayer from hearing me, "Quick question, there was an orange haired guy running towards us as we left with a weird look in his eye, do you know him?"  
The blonde shrugged, evidently still irritated with me, but said nothing. This was something I would have to clear up eventually, though I wasn't sure just how much I cared right now; I already had two things on my mind, what I would say to Jose to get him to believe me, and why that orange haired guy had a weird sense about him...  
I wasn't terribly perceptive about sensing a person's energy without their blood, so if I could tell that something was off about him from here, then it had to be a pretty major thing.  
No, now was not the time to be thinking about this, Jose would be hard enough to convince without having my mind on other things, but I had a plan, one that would certainly put him on edge, even if it didn't convince him completely. My old flair was tucked safely into my pocket, where it would remain until it was needed, if it came out too soon, I would probably be carted to the Magic Council before I was able to get back at Jose.  
As we neared what I assumed was the control room, I reached over to the blonde and patted her on the head, "Remember what I said and stay strong." She was confused for half a second before a person in a mask jumped out from a side corridor and grabbed her, pulling her away from me.   
That in and of itself made me want to kill someone, but I had to stay on task, the blonde was surprisingly strong, she could handle what Jose would throw at her... There was no way my guild would allow her to stay in their hands for long, the orange haired guy had already seen her being taken, so I had no doubt that everyone already knew.  
A person was about to leap out at me, probably to pull the same shit they had with blonde, but before they could, my sword was drawn and I was glaring them down, daring them to try, "I asked to see Jose, is he close?" As I spoke, I watched the hooded figure shutter as Metal man sighed heavily.  
"Give it up, she's too good. I'm just going to let the Master deal with her." His voice was cold and uncaring, but I couldn't help but grin, he recognized how good I was, the snarky part of me cooed slightly.  
"Aw, the metal man recognizes that I'm a threat? I'm so flattered!"   
Immediately he spun around and sent a metal arm at me, "I didn't say that, you pea brain; I just don't want to deal with how irritating you are! Keep up this shit and I'll change my mind, you got that?" I giggled sadistically as I dodged and nodded, he could play tough all he wanted, but he couldn't fool me.  
We approached the room and my grin dropped as I felt the power building up, almost like there was a force field around the area, but that wasn't it... These people were all really powerful. (Not Laxus level or anything, but compared to most ordinary mages, they were really good.)  
Thankfully, Metal man didn't seem to care all that much for dramatic timing, so he threw the door open and slouched his way in, "Boss, this chick wanted to see you, she said you would want to see her too."  
I was all prepared for some crazy intimidating show of power, but when I entered... I couldn't stop a snort from bursting out of me. This ultra-powerful group was dressed more like a group of traveling entertainers than they were a powerful wizard guild.  
Despite that, I knew better than to underestimate them, any of them. Power was not determined by appearance, as fun as that would be, and no matter how laughable they were I could feel an immense amount of power coming off of them.  
"What do you want, brave fly," The obvious leader asked, as the Metal man went to stand in the lineup, creating a rather impressive group picture.  
I grinned slightly, this is where the main part of the strategy came in, "Well I needed to come and check up on one of my former clients, see how you were doing and whatnot." Confusion filled the air as I continued, "I suppose you never knew my face when you worked for me before, perhaps you would recognize the name, Ghost of Fiore a bit more?"   
Gasps came from several people in the room, but Jose simply stared at me, skepticism obvious, "And what proof do you have to back that claim up?" He questioned, tilting his head and walking forward to circle me, "Do you realize how many people have pretended to be the Ghost of Fiore? They know names and dates, a few have even had the easily identified flair to 'back up' their claims, yet none have been foolish enough to try and pin me as being a customer of theirs."  
The trap was set, and he was beginning to fall for it. I eased out my flair and began twirling it in my fingers as he came to stand in front of me again, "The first person you asked me to kill was a seemingly insignificant person in Ida, but under closer inspection, it turns out that this man was not only a rival within your old guild, he had also been the man your ex-wife cheated on you with. Along with the assassination request, you sent a cruel list of things you wanted me to do to him before he died, which included evisceration and an old method of torture known as the blood eagle. I ignored these requests because I'm not a monster, and simply killed the man as he lay in bed with another woman."  
The more I spoke, the less color Jose had; he knew I was telling the truth, but I was having fun now. Watching him suffer like this made me far happier than it should have, "You made this request before I earned the name Ghost of Fiore, but even after we both began moving up, you still used my services. The requests for overly cruel assassinations continued, but were always ignored; because, once again, I'm not a monster."  
By this time, Jose looked as though he were a mere black and white painting and the people behind him all had looks of shock and fear in their eyes, even metal man... or should I say Black Steel, seemed terrified by this new information  
My sweet smile was back as I leaned forward to him and showed off my flair, "Is that enough proof for you, Jose?" I sauntered past him and walked to a rather convenient seat that allowed me to watch over him with maximum smugness.   
"Wha... How?" Jose continued trying to talk for a moment but was unable to get out any words, while his henchmen were simply sitting off to the side, too afraid or intimidated to say anything.  
My chin rested on my hand as I watched everyone before I spoke again, "If you guys aren't careful, I'm going to start assuming that Phantom Lord's best are all a bunch of fly traps with how you're staring at me."  
As amusing as this was, we had other stuff that needed to be done, so I stood up and grabbed Jose by his collar, cutting off his stammering by slamming my knee into his gut, which got the immediate attention of everyone in the room, "Now that you're past that, I'm obligated to tell you that Fairy Tail happens to be under my protection, by attacking it, you've provoked me, so now I get an excuse to beat the crap out of you."  
***  
I crouched on the ground, staying in my defensive position as I panted, attacking recklessly did seem to be my M.O. lately, but in this case, it seems to have done more harm than good. Blood was dripping from my nose, but all I could do at this point was run forward again, longsword in hand (my dagger had been tossed away quite a while ago), and attempt to strike him again.  
I was quick, quicker than most normal people, yet even I was struggling with this three on one fight; Black Steel, the earth guy, and the fireman had left right away, apparently, they had more important things to do. But that still left me fighting the water woman, the blindfolded dude, and Jose himself.  
If this were a one on one fight, I could certainly take out both the blindfolded dude and the rain woman, but with all three, I was getting trashed.   
"I see why you were the best assassin back in your day," Jose's confidence had come back in spades, which was beyond frustrating, especially when you add to it the fact that every time I got close to hitting Jose, a wall of water or wind would get between us. Jose had yet to use his magic in this fight, "But it seems you've met your match here. You're good, but I expected more from the top assassin in all of Fiore."  
His hand made contact with my face for a fraction of a second, but that was all it took. Power surged through me, seemingly bypassing my magical immunity and I was sent flying. I hit the wall so hard that the whole room seemed to shake... Though, that could have been my brain reverberating against my skull.  
I tried to get back up, I really did, but the room was spinning so fast that there was no way I could think to move.  
"Well, now that we're done with that pitiful excuse for a fight, I must go attend to Miss Heartfilia. You provided an adequate distraction, my dear Ghost. Aria, Juvia, take her into custody." I couldn't see where he was, or even if there was more than one copy of him, but I knew he was leaving.  
"You won't win," I croaked out, trying to stabilize my vision. Thankfully, this seemed to stop Jose, who paused briefly before I continued speaking, "You can't win against Fairy Tail. Do you want to know why?"  
Jose sighed slightly, "Not particularly, but I imagine you're going to tell me anyways."  
I nodded slightly, "You right... It wouldn't be a good fight without... someone trying to monologue." He chuckled slightly, but I ignored him and continued, "You'll lose because you're underestimating them. You call them flies and treat them as though they are the scum of the earth, but you neglect to realize that they are fighting for their home and family, compared to fighting for money.  
"Underestimating your enemy will eventually lead you to fail, which happened to me today, but it's also happening to you right now..." With shaking arms, I pushed myself off the ground and got into an unstable standing position, "The people here genuinely care for their guildmates, which is something I suspect you wouldn't understand even if it came up and bit you on the face."  
One more go, I could give that much.  
With a surprising amount of speed, I propelled myself forward, blinking something out of my eye (I later found that it was blood), as I aimed for the blindfolded man instead of Jose. Perhaps it was shock, but the water woman made no attempt to stop me as I ran, making it to the blindfolded guy before he processed what was happening.  
My pommel collided with his temple, which nearly sent him down with just that, but I was done underestimating these guys; I followed my first hit with about three other strikes to his stomach and knee, which sent him crashing to the ground.  
Perhaps I could have taken out the water woman if I had kept going, but I was still feeling the hit that sent me into the wall and my stamina had been knocked out of me. If I stayed I would lose again, and perhaps even become a liability to the guild, which was the last thing I wanted.  
Without another thought, I bolted to the window and allowed my body weight to smash through, trying not to cry out as the glass shards cut into my arm.  
Let me make this clear, as if it wasn't painfully so already; I had no plan when I jumped out the window, I could have just been jumping to my death, but apparently fortune favored the stupid at that moment, and there was a ledge not too far down from where I fell out. I was able to maneuver my body just enough to where I landed painfully on my side... Yeah, it hurt like hell, but I was alive, and a couple of scoots allowed me to get out of the view of the window I had just jumped through.  
If someone came for me now, I was done for, but thankfully, despite my hearing them talking about the fact that I had gotten away, no one seemed to want to follow me.   
Perhaps my feat was simply so idiotic I was no longer worth following... I prayed Laxus never found out about this, but otherwise, I was okay with that.


	12. Jose

If I've learned anything throughout the years, it was that inaction was a powerful tool when used correctly. Spying on a target was a slow project, one that required large amounts of patience to sit still and wait for new information, wait for the perfect moment; these were all skills I had in abundance when I was still an assassin. However, it was becoming clear to me that Fairy Tail had ruined me for those attributes...  
I was only laying on the ledge for an hour, max, which was enough time to regain most of my energy and allow most of my wounds to heal superficially. Thank god for my body's naturally quick healing rate; I may be a far cry from being fully healed, but at least I was better than before.  
The longer I laid there, the more willing I became to sacrifice someone to whatever gods could be listening so that I could have an opportunity to kick Jose's teeth in, especially when he made an announcement over a loudspeaker that he had not only kidnapped the blonde, but that he also defeated me... Yeah, I would fight him one on one, and I would give him the biggest bruise possible.  
It seemed to take forever, but eventually, the sounds of fighting drew closer, which was my signal to make my move. The last thing I wanted would be to rest through the fight and be completely useless to the guild. I needed to make my coming back worth it, even if it took all my willpower to make my sore body move.  
With a slight groan, I moved into a crouch and examined the ledge beneath me, it would probably be the easiest way to get back in. As a bonus, if I was careful, I could avoid cutting my arm open on the glass. Thankfully, Doing that wasn't too hard, sure I was mincing with every move, but it seemed like my maneuverability hadn't been damaged that much.  
Once I was in, I prowled through the halls towards the sounds of fighting, pulling out my dagger and a smaller knife from inside my belt, seeing as how my longsword was still in the room one floor above me. Not for the first time, I blessed my insistence to know how to handle all my weapons well; now I wasn't up the metaphorical creek without a paddle, I could still fight with confidence when I needed too.  
The rooms passed slowly, and soon I picked up my pace, choosing speed over being discrete, this place was big enough that I could easily spend the entire battle simply looking for the battle if I wasn't careful. Though I was able to hear sounds of a fight from here, it sounded intense, and I could help but worry for whoever was in the line of fire... The way this had been set up was intentional, it was meant to be lethal.  
By the time I reached the doorway, all had gone quiet, which indicated that the fight was over, small burn marks covered the door, which could only have come from two people, so I was eager to find out who had been fighting.   
The door creaked as it opened, protesting the strain it had been put under in the past few minutes, which I sympathized with; though I couldn't help but feel far worse for the architecture once I entered the room. Pillars were laying on the ground, broken into pieces, the walls were covered in a mixture of cuts, burns and what looked to be ice. Windows had been blown out, and the flooring had been smashed beyond all recognition, which made this whole room scream out the fact that a major battle had taken place here.  
On the ground, near the middle of the room, lay the blindfold man, now without his blindfold and the redhead whom I had seen earlier in the guild. The blacked haired boy, as well as squeaky and some giant man, were all lying off to the side, breathing heavily as they took in the aftermath of the battle.   
I walked to the blindfolded man and whistled lowly, "My goodness, you did quite the number on him, I'm kind of impressed." Everyone's heads snapped towards me as I spoke, watching me with confusion and relief.  
"Yes," The redhead's voice held a rather judgemental tone, which made me sigh slightly. I knew she would probably get irritated with me eventually, especially with how she greeted me in the guild, but now hardly seemed like the appropriate time to do this. "And where were you during this whole fight, Loke mentioned that you basically offered Lucy up to Jose, so I hope you have a good explanation."  
Fine, she wanted to do this now, I'd play, who cares that I was starting to feel energy coming this way, which likely meant that Jose was joining the fight, who really cares that the blonde was still in the possession of this less than friendly guild, we'd do this.  
"I was having my own fight," My tone was frosty as I gripped my dagger tightly if my instincts were correct, the redhead was in the line of fire. I adjusted slightly, compensating for my injuries as I prepared to intercept, "Jose would have gotten ahold of the blonde eventually, so I simply used that as an excuse to get close to him."  
I could feel the three other people in the room shutter slightly as the redhead and I exchanged glares; she was ticked, and I couldn't help but smirk slightly. This was someone who knew how to glare properly, if she were up against anyone else, she might have intimidated them with that look.  
I was almost proud.  
"That doesn't explain you abandoning your guildmate to be tortured, have you no sympathy?!" I could see the redhead requipping into another armor, which was slightly impressive, I wondered if she was as good at fighting as she seemed? Perhaps I should challenge her to a duel after all this was over, just to see. I always did enjoy a challenge.  
However, all that could wait, Jose was here. Without another thought, I propelled myself forward to right in front of where the redhead was. Thankfully, my instincts were on point, as I was able to intercept Jose mid-flight as I did a full body tackle, changing his trajectory entirely. Instead of him taking out the redhead, he made contact with one of the few remaining pillars in the room, as I landed safely a few feet away.  
"I see you survived," Jose drawled standing up from the pillar, looking as though he hadn't been hit at all, "After you jumped through the window, I was afraid you had died, though I imagine Aria would have been fine with that. It took him five whole minutes to regain consciousness after that little stunt of yours."   
Once again, I heard gasps coming from behind me, but I ignored them, I didn't care about their reactions right now, "Too bad it wasn't enough. If this had been eight years ago, you all would be dead, so you should thank these flies, as you call them, for that."  
He laughed shortly, an insane glimmer in his eyes, "Is that really a good thing though? You were a legend, yet it seems these Fairies have tamed you, which really is a tragedy." What a joke, my eyes rolled at his obvious insinuation, "You know, if you joined me, I would put you to so much better use. You took down two of my best people in seconds, not to mention I received a message from my guild; apparently, some insane woman stopped in to deliver a message to me, I can only assume was you." His voice was so cocky, it took all of my willpower not to attack right then.  
"Ah, so they did pass on my message, how good of them; they were quite entertaining while they lasted," My mutter made it to Jose, whose grin widened slightly, but I cut him off before he could continue trying to recruit me, "It's a generous offer, Jose, but I really have no desire to go back to my old life and even if I did, you are threatening the only people I owe my loyalty to, so you would inevitably be my first target."  
I smirked slightly, then allowed it to grow into a sadistic smile. If he was allowing his insanity to come out and play, then it would only be fair to reciprocate, "This time you don't have two impenetrable shields, think you can still keep up?"  
"Keep up?" Jose laughed and raised his arms, allowing shadows to flood from him as though someone had just turned on a facet, "My dear, that's exactly what I should be asking you!"  
Before I ran into this long-anticipated fight, I turned to the redhead, who was still standing behind me, unable to hide the shock on her face, "You did well fighting Aria, but stay out of this fight, he's my problem."  
I couldn't wait for her to say anything, by the time she would have been able to, I was already across the room, dodging between shades to get at Jose.  
This time around, I was on high alert, Jose's shades seemed to be significantly slower than Jose, so it didn't take long before I made it to him, striking quickly, which, of course, he parried.  
"Am I really going to see The Ghost of Fiore go all out?" He spoke calmly, as though we weren't moving faster than the eye could follow, "Why were you holding back on me earlier?"  
He reached out, obviously meaning to send a shock through me as he had before, but I was ready this time. The flat of my dagger intercepted his hand, cutting through his skin, forcing him to leap backward as I followed up with my knife, slashing him slightly on his arm.  
I followed him and continued to strike and for just an instant, I had him on the defensive. This was no time for speaking, he was a wizard saint and I didn't use my magic. I was at a severe disadvantage, but that wouldn't stop me.  
We clashed again, his shades acting like a sentient whip, keeping my blades at bay no matter how hard I struck. If I continued to fight like this... Well, I would embarrass myself, and maybe even die.  
My dagger clattered to the ground, torn from my grip by Jose, who was now starting to cackle wildly, no doubt he thought he was winning, but I had something else I could try, not my last trick, for sure, but an old favorite.  
As Jose reached forward once more to strike the 'winning blow, I feinted to the left before jumping straight up; this move was tricky and required a shit ton of concentration, but that didn't stop me.  
As I hung in the air for a moment, I watched Joses face twist slightly with surprise before gravity began to pull me back down. Jose's original strike was still causing his arm to move forward slightly, which was perfect when I hit the ground, I made sure that my feet were positioned right above Jose's arm.   
This all happened within a fraction of a second, so he had no time to move before his arm before my feel forced it to make contact with the floor.  
A sickening crack echoed through the room as Jose's eyes widened and he yelled out in pain. I jumped off his arm, and rolled away, avoiding the shades he sent right at me as he curled into himself to cradle his arm.   
I pulled another knife out of my boot before I stood and jumped backward yet again. He was injured, which meant he was even more dangerous. We were at a standoff, he was glaring at me, the whites of his eye had turned black and the pupil was now red and a black shade had completely encased his broken arm.  
This would likely be my last stand unless I... No, I refused to do that for someone like him. Without magic, I would surely lose to Jose now that he had unleashed his full power, but perhaps I could hold him off until reinforcements arrived.  
If I aimed for the limbs, it was possible that he would be too distracted to bring his full power against me right away, I just needed to time this ri-  
Before I could even think to move, a flash of red ran past me to confront Jose, "No," I hissed out, watching as Jose prepared a spell that would likely kill her. I watched as the whip formed, crackling with malicious intent before it sped forward, moving like a snake after it's prey.  
Another shout of pain echoed through the room when the whip struck, but it wasn't the redhead who had been caught in Jose's trap. No, I was infinitely dumber than her right now.  
The rope of energy was tearing through my insides like it was nothing, and this was with my magical immunity; I had gotten a taste of this before, but now it was apparent that strong enough magic could still harm me, which was not a pleasent realization.  
My teeth ground together as I glared at Jose, who was smirking at me so smugly, "Well, I didn't think I'd actually catch you with a trap this obvious, thank god for interfering little pests I suppose." His grin was animalistic, but I wouldn't give in.  
"Yeah... I'm as surprised... as you are right now," My breathing was heavy as the pain continued to wrack my insides. How I was still holding up was a complete mystery, but it was the only option right now, "Too bad... You're still going to lose."  
He walked closer to me, which prompted the redhead and the black haired guy to get into fighting stances, "No!" My yell took them off guard, "Fight now and you'll die. I'm the only one who can face him right now, do you understand me?"  
Jose chucked as he got even nearer, "You should listen to her," The malevolent intent in his voice shook even me to the core, which was saying a lot, "If this one didn't have an irritating way of blocking some of my energy, she would be dead for sure, so please stay out of our way. This is a private conversation!"  
With the last sentence, Jose's eyes widened and a wall of shadow sprung up between us and my guildmates, who I could hear crying out in shock.  
Thankfully, when he erected the wall, the magic he was sending to the rope binding me weakened just enough for me to slip through it. I landed painfully on my side, but still managed to stand, cussing heavily as I did so.  
"Now that the distraction's gone, we can chat," Jose was only about a foot in front of me as I looked up at him, clutching my midriff, unable to stand straight. "I really would like it if you left these flies to come and work for me, we could do so much more. Forget killing of these Fairies, give us enough time, and we could take down the magic council itself. With you as my blade, we would be unstoppable."  
After everything I said, he still thought I would change alliances? He really hadn't been listening. "What do I have to do to help you understand?" I growled out, straightening as much as I could, "I don't want to be an assassin anymore, do you know what I want instead?" He cocked his head, his black eyes still gleaming with malic, though now my gaze was just as cold, if not colder, than his was.  
He fake yawned and looked at the wall of swirling black that surrounded us, "I suppose you want to settle down, have a normal life, boring things that boring people do, is that right? If it is, I must say that I'm incredibly disappointed."   
"Well," I mused, thoughtfully rubbing the back of my neck while reaching to the pocket sewn into the collar of my shirt where I kept my second to last blade, "That is one option, though I doubt it would fit my style very well."  
I watched Jose's eyes roll, apparently, he was already bored with this conversation and didn't see the trap closing in around him, "Oh do tell me, my dear, I'm absolutely dying to know,"  
I looked him in the eye and allowed the full amount of my killing intent come forward, blazing through so much that it practically took shape behind me, "I want to hunt down and torment anyone who thinks that it's a good idea to hurt Fairy Tail!"  
Jose was quick to react, but unfortunately for him, he was still a millisecond too slow. My knife plunged into his side, allowing the special sedative that I kept on this blade to enter his bloodstream before I lifted my leg and kicked his chest hard enough to send him flying through his own shadow wall, dispersing the spell.(Think the chest kick in 300)  
Now, I was under no illusions that this had won the fight, but it sure as hell made me feel better (not really, I was ready to collapse any minute with how bad the pain was). I followed Jose and grabbed his collar before punching his nose as hard as I could, this would likely be the last punch that I would be able to land on him, but I had been dying to do it for too long.  
Immediately after that, I felt a blast of energy hit my midriff, which sent me flying backward for about ten feet before I rolled on the ground a few times, slowly coming to a stop and trying to get breath to reenter my lungs.  
A hand was shaking my shoulder, presumably, it was one of the people who got in my way earlier, but they would just have to wait a second. My heartbeat was pounding in my ears and an unholy moan was emitting from my mouth as my lungs slowly reinflated. This wasn't the first time I had experienced this, but it was the first time it had happened while in battle, so I was shaken, it absolutely sucked.  
Finally, I had the control over my body to brush the hand that was shaking me away, before rolling over and beginning to dry heave. Thankfully there was no blood in the stomach acid that came up, so at least he hadn't ruptured my internal organs.   
'I'm very impressed," Jose's voice sounded far less suave, I could practically hear the broken rib I gave him, "Few have managed to wound me this badly during a fight. I can only imagine what you would be able to do if you used your magic." I turned my head to glare at him, threatening death with my eyes if he brought that up, "Oh? Why so hostile?" God damn it, even with a purple bruise covering half of his face and at least one broken rib he still managed to sound like the smuggest fuck alive.  
"Did I perhaps brush a sensitive subject? Just my luck, you see, I happen to be able to sense a person's magic fairly well, and I sense that you have a sizeable amount, though it's been suppressed."  
He chucked, which quickly turned into a hacking fit, I couldn't just let him continue, I knew that a strong energy was coming this way, and it didn't seem like another enemy, I needed to keep him away from my guildmates until this person came.   
I held my breath as I forced myself to stand for the umpteenth time that day, straining as I tried not to scream. This was far more painful than it had been... probably because everytime he got me, it was usually a blow to my midriff.  
"Listen... here... you smug... fuck" I gasped out, finding that I was completely incapable of standing straight, "You are... a terrible person... and I hope... you rot in jail... for the rest of... your miserable... life."  
This was it, I knew the energy was close to me, but I wasn't sure if it was closer than the spell that Jose was about to cast. The redhead and black haired boy both yelled out, and I could see them trying to get in front of me before they were repelled by a surge of black energy.  
As the spell formed and was thrown at me, I kept eye contact with Jose, smiling sweetly before I muttered one last thing, "Be sure to tell your cellmate who gave you such a beautiful bruise."  
The energy raced towards me, and I braced myself for what would likely the final blow, ignoring the yells that I could hear from the sidelines as the energy raced across the ground towards me...  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
Before the blow could hit me, a shadow landed squarely in front of it and dispelled the energy as though it was nothing.  
"About time you got here, old man,"


	13. Hidden Power

"About time you got here, old man,"  
I watched passively as the old man and Jose faced off, the tension between them was off the charts, which didn't really surprise me... The old man had always been protective.  
As much as I wanted to keep up with the conversation, I was at the end of my stamina, I knew there was plenty of internal damage and other injuries that I didn't even want to think about how much I would hurting tomorrow. The fact of the matter was that I was only standing right now because of the leftover adrenaline in my system, I knew my body too well to think otherwise.  
"Ember," I looked up, gasping slightly as even that little move strained muscles that didn't want to move. The old man wasn't looking at me, but I didn't mind, "Thank you for protecting my children so diligently, please take care of them until I finish up in here."  
God damn it, I knew what he wanted me to do, but I really didn't want to move, "Yeah... sure," I murmured before I turned around and walked awkwardly towards the white-haired giant who was lying on the ground, still passed out.  
I was already bent nearly in half as I walked, so even the thought of what I needed to do was absolutely terrible. A loud groan escaped me as I crouched in front of the giant and pulled one of his arms over my shoulder.  
Distantly, I could tell that someone was running towards me and that my name was being called, but right now I just needed to focus on getting this one out of the room before things turned violent. Slowly, I began to stand, which quickly turned my vision white with the pain. My breathing quickened and every muscle in my body was screaming at me to stop being an idiot and just let the others get him, but no... My pride wouldn't allow that.  
One foot in front of the other, I made my way towards where I had remembered the door being, though it seemed like I was being guided by something or someone as occasionally my foot would slip, but I never fell. Maybe the others had realized that there was no stopping me, so they just decided to help me until I collapsed, which was closer than I liked to admit.  
Each step felt like an eternity, but eventually, I felt the door with my face, though it did open quickly which allowed me to walk through it and continue on a few steps before I dropped the giant and collapsed to my knees.  
The weight gone, slowly my vision began to return as I heaved out breaths, trying not to pay attention to the people staring at me right now, "Did... Squeaky make it... out?" I asked as consistently as I could, finally looking at the redhead who was watching me worriedly.  
"Yes," Her voice was loud, far too loud for my liking but I simply shrugged it off, my ears being strained from the pressure was the last thing I cared about right now, "Grey picked her up as you were carrying Elfman."  
I nodded as I shifted off my knees carefully till I was lying flat on the floor, listening carefully to what could be happening in the other room, though nothing major was going on right now.  
"May I ask you a question?" The redhead sat beside me as my gaze jumped back to her, "Why haven't we seen you around the guild before today? According to the Master, you are a strong mage, and by what we've seen tonight, you are also an accomplished fighter, so why do we know nothing about you?"  
The black haired man, Grey, who I didn't know was leaning on the wall snorted disdainfully at that, "Does it matter? You don't seem to care for anyone besides yourself. I mean, you left Lucy to be tortured, and when we tried to help, you yelled about how you were the only one good enough to fight Jose. Perhaps the only reason you came was to take care of an old grudge."  
Immediately my gaze sharpened on him, "I may be half dead, but say that again and I will beat you till speaking is no longer an option." Despite my words I sighed slightly, there was no way they were getting my sob story, but they probably deserved some form of an explanation... I did not want to do this.  
"For your information, the reason I came back is that the guild was in danger; believe me, I would prefer not to be pulled into the daily activities of the guild, but Squeaky asked for my help and seeing the state the guild was in really pissed me off. I didn't come simply to get revenge on Jose, though that was a bonus, the cruel bastard had it coming."  
I grinned slightly as I noticed the shock in their eyes, even like this, I still loved screwing with people, "I let the blonde- Lucy, you said?- be taken because she would have been grabbed either way. You don't have to believe me, but if I had fought to keep her by my side and continue to protect her, she probably would have had it worse than she already did. Jose would have hurt her more simply to spite me... Especially after I jumped through the window; that was just throwing fuel on the fire, which isn't what I wanted.  
"As it is, the fact that I brought her in peacefully probably saved her several bruises." The redhead nodded slightly as I spoke, obviously my explanation appeased her, even if I dodged her main question. "And Iceman," I added, looking at the other guy, "I told you that I was the only one who could fight him because that was just a fact, I have a magical immunity which meant that Jose was going all out against me from the get-go. Any one of his hits would have killed you immediately."  
Grey, despite my attempt at reassurance, was still glaring at me suspiciously, unwilling to believe what I said. Not that I cared, he could think what he wanted, it was no skin off my back.  
Before he could rebut my statement, like he obviously wanted too, a bright light filled the corridor, causing a warmth to wash over me as I laid there. There it was, the fight was over; honestly, I was surprised that he resorted to using that spell.  
"Fairy Law," The redhead breathed out, echoing my thoughts.  
I cracked open my eyes and looked at her, she was watching the door with a star-struck look, which nearly forced a chuckle out of me, "Help me up," My voice was quiet, but still enough to catch her attention, "Let's go see the aftermath, shall we?"  
Thankfully, there was no protest as the redhead gently guided me to a standing position, remaining close to me as it was fairly apparent that I could no longer go on under my own power. With her help, I made it to the door quickly and once it was opened I outright laughed, though it was cut off quickly by a groan of pain. Against the wall stood Jose, who was frozen, all the color leeched out of him and a look of terror spread across his face.  
The old man, on the other hand, was sitting on a pile of the rubble, staring out the window sadly, "I'm sorry to have caused so much suffering for you all," His voice was guilt-ridden as he sat, slumped slightly, which made me shift awkwardly.  
Make me fight an opponent that is way out of my league, I would be ecstatic, Tell me to track an individual to find all of their strengths and weaknesses before eliminating them... Well, I didn't' do that anymore, but it still was a something I would have taken on happily. Providing comfort? It would probably be better if I left the room now for all the good I could do.  
Icyman (That was the black-haired guy's new nickname, just calling him the black haired guy over and over was exhausting), walked up to the old man as the redhead set me gently on some rubble before joining Icyman, "I don't get it," He said gruffly, "What could you have done wrong? You just saved all of us."  
All of us? I huffed with irritation, he saved me, they were just sticking around and getting in the way; there were about a million times they could have left prior to the old man showing up.  
"Because of my weakness, my children were harmed, and Fairy Tail was nearly destroyed. As the master of this guild, I take responsibility for you, so allowing all this to happen falls on me." The Old Man's voice was heavy, I may understand some of how he felt, but my thoughts were drawn to the near-literal statue of Jose that was against the wall.  
He said he knew about my magic, which was something I had hidden as deeply as possible; I had even taken some of Gavin's magic draining solution that morning, for God's sake! If he could sense my magic, then it was completely possible that other people knew about it as well, which put me, and others in danger.  
The longer my thoughts revolved around this, the harder it was to suppress my memories. My magic wasn't exactly user-friendly, which made it one of the few magics that the council absolutely banned years ago... Funnily enough, it was my fault that it had been banned in the first place... Those were memories I couldn't allow myself to delve into at the moment.  
If Jose knew about my magic... Did the Old Man? What about that idiot, Siegrain, at the magic council? If they knew, then that news could be just as devastating to the guild as me being the Ghost of Fiore. Magic as destructive as mine was always feared, especially when it had done a considerable amount of harm in the past.  
Wincing slightly, I ran my hand through my hair, contemplating what had been happening, and what could happen as this continued through till it's natural conclusion. First, Jose would be taken into custody, which meant that he would have ample opportunity to tell the authorities about me; though I doubted he would, Jose was far too manipulative for that. Likely Siegrain would get the info out of him, at which point who knew. He was unpredictable at best.  
First thing I had to do was make a trip home, grab some supplies, new weapons from my ever-growing collection, and clean up, then I needed to head to Gavin's and grab some of my usual supplies. If this went down how I imagined it, then I would at the very least be incarcerated until they are able to prove that I am the Ghost of Fiore... Worst case is that they decide to execute me and arrest the old man for harboring a fugitive.  
Either way, shopping with Evergreen was going to have to wait. I would not want to be in a twelve-mile radius of her when she finds out.  
My adrenaline was gone by now, and my it was highly unlikely that my legs would support me as it was, so I turned to the group, who seemed to be in the middle of their 'team spirit' conversation. They could shake pom pom's together another time, I needed to get back to the guild.  
"Hey," My voice was raspy, which, when you added that to the bruises and cuts I was sporting, probably made me look like a druggie, "I need to go back to the guild, who's willing to give me a lift?"  
They turned to face me with a range of emotion on each of their faces, "Ember, while I agree that you need to be going back to the guild right now, why do I get the feeling that you are only going to disappear immediately afterwards?" The Old Man's eyes screamed parenthood as he gave me the best example of, 'the look' that I had ever seen him do.  
He knew me far to well, I coughed awkwardly as he stared me down, but didn't break eye contact, "Because I have things to do," Yeah, my voice was far more snippy than I had meant for it to come out, but I had just about every excuse under the sun for it to be so, "I was in the middle of a job when I dropped everything to come here, I'm not just going to leave it unfinished. Besides, I also have a grumpy Evergreen to deal with."  
The last sentence was only mumbled out, but I still heard the Old Man snickering a little as he nodded, though I wasn't done, "When I come back, we need to talk about the magic council." This wiped all forms of humor from his face as he nodded solemnly and waved at the redhead to grab me.  
***  
Curses were streaming out of my mouth like water as Porlyusica tightened the bandages around my midriff, "Would you stop your whining?" She snapped out, smacking my arm relatively hard as she did so. Never piss of a physician, it just doesn't end well...  
"Just be glad you're able to move at all," Porlyusica's voice was a little bit softer at that, which made me cringe slightly. For Porlyusica to sound like that when she was speaking to me meant the damage was gruesome indeed.  
Either way, staying here was not an option, I had a job to finish several train rides away and then I needed to get in touch with Evergreen to limit the conniption she was probably having right now. Standing was not easy, but with the power of swearing, I was able to get up and turn around slightly to look at Porlyusica.  
"I know tending to me was probably the last thing you wanted to do today, so thanks I guess."  
No other words were spoken as I left, feeling myself sway with every step as I walked to help limit the pain. Stairs were tricky, but somehow I managed to make it down without either falling or simply giving up and leaping to my death.  
It took a bit, but finally, I reached the basement where all eyes seemed to go right to me as though I was the most interesting thing in the room... Because being the center of attention was exactly what I wanted at that moment.  
"Ember!" The redhead and Squeaky practically sprinted to the bottom of the stairs when I got a few steps down, allowing me a moment to glare at them harshly before I schooled my expression down to a less murderous one, "Are you sure you should be out of bed right now?"  
"We would hate for you to push yourself too far," Squeaky was the one who said this, looking at me, pity radiating from her, which did not help my mood.  
I was not about to answer the seemingly condescending question, so I simply kept going until I was in front of the redhead, who bowed in front of me, shocking me nearly to death, "I must apologize Ember, you told me to not interfere in your fight, and yet I did, which led to you getting even more injured. Please hit me to punish me for my sins."  
Well... Damn. I mean, I was already planning on chewing her out for getting in the middle of my fight, but if she was offering... I lifted her head slightly before bringing my fist back and allowing it to connect with her chest, sending her flying into the wall.  
The entire guild got to its feet as yells of anger were thrown at me, but they were hushed quickly as I glared at them, slowing the cries of outrage until the room was silent once again. Once everyone had shut up, I turned my attention back to the redhead, who was pushing herself up and staring at me with something that looked like admiration.  
"You're absolutely right, jumping in the middle of my fight could have cost both of us our lives," I snapped, which caused her to wince, "Though you seem to realize that already, so I won't lecture you. Just know that if something like this happens again, then I can't promise that I'll be able to protect you again."  
Without a second glance, I turned away and walked to a familiar blonde, who was sitting on a barrel watching me nervously. Once I was in front of her, I lifted my hand, which caused her to flinch and close her eyes- more notably, I saw a familiar looking pinkette stand and take a threatening step towards me as I reached for the blonde... Perhaps he liked her- before gently patting her on the head. Her eyes opened wide in shock as she stared at me questioningly.  
"You did well," My voice was quiet as I smoothed her hair back, "It takes a strong person to withstand torture like that. You've impressed me, Lucy."   
Tears began to well up in her eyes as she continued to stare at me, "But this was my fault too begin with, it's because of me everyone was hurt, including you."   
Shit. Now she wanted comforting... I had no clue what I should do. My hand retreated and I took a step back, trying to come up with something unoffensive to say, "Um, well, actually..." My voice stammered and I could practically sense the spark plug laughing at me as I struggled, "Not... Not your fault..." I could feel my cheeks flushing the longer she stared at me in confusion, I needed to say something, "Blame your shitty dad, not yourself, I've looked into him, he's a dick."  
Welp, now that I had completely embarrassed myself, it seemed like as good a time as ever to leave quickly. I turned around and walked towards the exit, praying that no one would notice my obviously flustered state as I made my retreat. Unfortunately, I was stopped only a few feet away from my escape by a quiet voice coming from Lucy, who had stayed where she was.  
"Thank you, Ember."  
I remained frozen for a few more seconds before I continued on, finally breaking free of the guild. She was sweet, but thankfully I didn't have to deal with that anymore, I had far too many other things to focus on right now. Thankfully there would be a short repreive from the chaos before I had to jump back in.


	14. Chastisement

I think the old man was hoping that I would get back within the next two or three days to talk to him about the magic council, but that just didn't end up happening. It took me a full week and a half to get back to the guild after the whole Phantom Lord incident. The first day was me finishing my mission to take out some monsters (That hurt like hell, let me tell you... Internal damage is real boys and girls), and after that, I went back home and slept for a good three days straight.  
After my mini coma, I contacted Evergreen, who seemed to be close to murdering me at that point, and took her on an impromptu shopping trip to Gavin's, who was absolutely ecstatic to have her back in the shop... Creepy is a major understatement when it comes to him at times; when we were teenagers, it was weird, now that we were legal adults, it was somehow worse.  
Anyways, the main reason it took me so long to get back to Magnolia was the fact that I needed to check out the popular gossip spots for news about the Ghost of Fiore. If news about me still being around got out, any form of a cover-up job would be exponentially harder, and gossip was the best way to find anything out half the time. Sure, at best, you would have to throw out half the rumor due to exaggeration, but it was amazing how reliable gossip was, and I knew the most ruthless gossip hotspots.  
After a week of jumping between different locations with no news, I knew I was pretty much in the clear. Any information about me had been well contained, which was a bit of a miracle, all things considered.   
It was a busy week and a half, not at all the vacation from stress I had been hoping for, though there certainly was a few moments that I was able to de-stress. My favorite of which was the time when a few bandits decided that I would be an easy paycheck. Beating the shit out of them was great, especially after fighting so many high tiered mages; between Jose, Aria, and the entirety of Phantom Lord's guild, there had been a lot of strenuous fights, so this was downright therapeutic.  
Seeing that hopeless look, the one that showed they realized just how badly they had messed up by picking me as a target, was a look I loved. It was just so much fun to rub their newfound realization in by knocking out some teeth.  
Sadism aside, nothing major happened the rest of my time away, I was either passed out or working, so by the time I got back to the guild, I was already exhausted again.  
Seeing the guild the way it was, a huge skeleton that was far bigger than I remembered the original building being, was shocking. The original building was gone, replaced by framing that showed what would be a truly huge building.  
The old man must have taken the opportunity presented when the guild hall was trashed to expand, which made me chuckle. He was ever the opportunist, though, I was a bit more surprised at who I found inside the skeletal guild hall than I was by the hall itself. You see, I knew a lot about the people I had grown up with, and while they certainly visited the guild more than I did, Laxus especially never mixed well with those he viewed as 'below' him...  
Prejudiced hog.  
As I listened to Laxus insult the other members of the guild, I carefully climbed into the wooden framework so I wouldn't be noticed. Not that I really cared... Well, I mean, I cared, but I just had some things to say to the idiotic spark plug before he left without eavesdroppers listening in. I honestly doubted he would stay too much longer, seeing as there was nowhere he could go that allowed him to lord above the plebeians.  
He really wanted to prove my point, because only a few seconds of me thinking that, he swept out of the common area with a flourish, passing under my little nest, "You know," I called out calmly, causing Laxus' shoulders to tense up, "Usually I get a kick out of your whole superiority act, it's hilarious normally, but today the ignorance is just painful to watch... You should really work on that."  
"Shut up, coal head, I'm just calling the situation as I see it." He growled at me, allowing me to get a good side view of his fangs.   
I scoffed, jumping down from my perch and landing lithely in front of him, "As you see what? You weren't here to see anything, which means that anything you say about the whole ordeal is immediately deemed to be stupid and discarded without further thought." Ah, the irritation was welling up inside of him, what fun.   
"You're just angry that they were able to defeat the enemy without you, which means that they're actually powerful, which, in turn, means that you might actually have to respect them!" I gasped lightly and placed my hands on my cheeks, "My goodness! The angstiest of Spark Plugs might have to respect someone besides himself?! The world must be ending!"  
Before I could blink my eyes, Laxus had pinned me up against the nearest piece of framing and was glaring at me menacingly, "Shut up coal head, I mean it. Those idiots aren't strong enough to compete with me and they never will be."  
If looks could kill, then we would have died when we first met and now our ghosts would be killing each other again for the millionth time.  
Laxus was incredibly fast, he always had been, that combined with his strength made him a formidable opponent, but there was something he forgot; I was his equal. In less time than it had taken for him to pin me against the boards, I broke free from his grip and appeared on his back, a hidden knife perched delicately at his throat, "Well that's ironic then, because the members of this guild may be physically weak, but their devotion and love for each other make them strong, while your arrogance and refusal to look past the surface makes you one of the weakest members of the guild."  
My voice was no longer cheerful and mocking, but ice cold and threatening. Laxus threw me from his shoulders, leaving himself with a razor-thin cut across his throat, too shallow to do any harm, "You bitch," He said, rolling his shoulders as he prepared to charge at me, "I think it's been too long since we've fought, you seem to have forgotten your place."  
By this time, I forgot to care about the other members of the guild hearing us as I threw back my head and laughed out loud, "I agree, it's been too long, I mean, you seem to have forgotten that last time we fought neither of us won, but hey, I'd be more then happy to refresh your memory of that black eye I gave you."  
The tension in the air was so thick that I probably could have cut it with my knife it I had wanted too, but thankfully, it didn't come to that. I knew that a pair of eyes were watching us and while I would've loved to give them a show, they woke me up slightly so I could remember the fact that the guild was indeed very fragile right now. The last thing they needed was for me to get in a major fight with a literal spark plug... After all, if there was one thing that Fairy Tail was known for, it was their destructive capabilities.  
It took effort, but I was able to force my body to leave it's battle ready position, muscles loosened and I stood straight, rolling my shoulders slightly as I turned away from the spark plug.  
"Wait a minute, are you an idiot?" Laxus barked out, agitation showing not just through his tone but also the streaks of electricity that were passing me intermittently, "You just challenged me to a fight, do you really think I'll just let you walk away?"  
You know, Laxus really could be smart when he wanted to be, he had all earmarks of a great leader, but at the same time, he was also one of the dumbest people I knew... "Use your eyes dip shit," It wasn't intended, but I doubted that I could have made my voice more condescending if I had tried, "We're surrounded by wood, people, and other things that would be incredibly easy to break, do you really think fighting right now would be a good idea?"  
His silence was all the conformation I needed, I continued walking towards the tent that had been set up for the old man's office, "Don't worry, I'm more than willing to fight you next time we meet," I looked over my shoulder at him and allowed malice to fill my expression as I looked at him, "I expect a good fight, since you've been talking so much shit lately, my standards are high, and I would hate to be... disappointed."  
Perhaps I pushed him too far, but I couldn't help the satisfaction that welled up inside of me as he turned and walked away, his coat trailing behind him dramatically. I got my point across, and right now, that was what mattered.  
I continued walking as I passed my eavesdropper, who had hidden in a pile of construction material. It wasn't someone who was a part of the guild, but they weren't setting off my danger senses, so for now, I could choose to ignore them.  
The flap of the master's tent closed as I walked in, causing the old man to jerk slightly in alarm as I came in, "Ember," He yelped, apparently he had fallen asleep on his pile of paperwork, "You're back, I expected you quite some time ago..." He paused to yawn slightly and stretch before jumping out of his seat to approach me.  
"We received a letter from the Magic Council three days ago, apparently news of the Ghost of Fiore reappearing reached them and they sent us a notice of warning. Ember, they are considering beginning an investigation into whomever Jose singled out, into you." His voice was so serious that I couldn't help but feel bad for the old man, he was so concerned.  
This is pretty much what I expected would happen, if not a bit slower. I smiled slightly as I leaned against a tent pole, my arms crossed behind my head, "So they got to this point, did they? Don't worry old man, it'll take a lot of evidence for them to prove anything, besides, I have the best defense possible, people wouldn't want to believe it was me."  
At the old man's confused face I sighed, "No one wants to believe that the Ghost of Fiore was only a really messed up child, which means that the council will already be inclined to believe me when I tell them I'm innocent. Never underestimate the power of people's beliefs."  
Makarov nodded slightly, but his brow remained furrowed as he stared at the ground, "Perhaps, but what of the timing? Wouldn't it be suspicious that you joined Fairy Tail at the same time as the Ghost of Fiore disappeared?"  
His question was valid, but I couldn't help but wince away from him at that, "Well, you see," I could feel heat spilling across my cheeks as I blushed, this was not something I wanted to admit to him, "Have you ever heard of copycat killers?"   
He nodded slowly and I looked away before continuing, "Well, apparently after I stopped working actively a few people tried to take over my job, which meant that it looked like the Ghost of Fiore was active for several more months than I actually was... Um, well, I know it was probably really bad of me, but I couldn't watch the professional jobs I did be massacred in such a gross way so I may have... Arranged for them to... Well... Disappear."  
I stared intently at the ground as I spoke, out of all the people I wanted to never hear about this, he was probably first on the list, "So, well, that means that there is a record of the Ghost being active for quite a bit after I joined Fairy Tail." I finally managed to look at the old man, but that was a big mistake, a look of shock and horror a screaming at me, which made the words die in my throat.  
A heavy silence filled the room as I fidgeted, praying for a meteor or something equally lethal to put me out of my misery right now.  
"How did you arrange that?" He finally asked, his voice neutral, "We had you under strict surveillance for years, how could you possibly have arranged that?"  
Ah man, this was about to go from bad to worse real quick, "That's a pretty funny story actually," My voice was weak as I chuckled humorlessly, "You know I have a slight magical immunity, right?" He nodded and I took a deep breath before continuing, "Well, I accidentally strayed outside the confines of where I was supposed to go once, totally by accident, I promise, well that led to the device activating, which in turn led to me learning that my magical immunity was stronger than I thought."  
His face whitened the more I spoke and I winced for him, "Yeah, I didn't know it then, but apparently it takes a lot of magical energy to bypass my immunity, so the lacrima didn't do all that much. I promise that I didn't abuse it much," My voice was speeding up as I tried to defend myself from the old man's accusing eyes, "It's just that when I heard about the copycat killer, I knew I couldn't let them continue or they would end up causing a lot of damage and crap could be revealed that I really couldn't afford to at that point. I swear that I only left purposefully like ten times!"  
By this time, I was sitting on the ground, my hands flailing everywhere as I spoke, though the old man said nothing. The silence continued for a bit longer, which just about killed me.  
"And you only decided to tell me this now?"  
At this point my voice was so weak it was only barely audible, "Well, there was never a reason to mention it until now."  
Finally he sighed, "Ember, I swear, you will be the death of me." I nodded meekly and thanked my lucky stars that Laxus wasn't here to see me like this, if this was bad, him being here and knowing that I snuck out under his nose would make it so much worse, "I need you to stick around until the magic council gets back in contact with us. You will only be allowed to be in Magnolia or Balsam Village where I can get in contact with you quickly. This means no missions, no trips with the Thunder God Tribe, and absolutely no sneaking off. Disobey me, and there will be consequences."  
My heart continued to sink as he spoke, I had shattered his faith in me completely, you could hear it in his voice; it was cold and strict, far different from the normally warm tone he spoke with. Instead of arguing like I normally would, I nodded weakly and stood, dusting off my pants before walking out. If this was what it was like to have a parent then I severely regretted this whole situation, I had no clue that I would regret my life choices so badly...  
***  
I walked through the woods calmly, watching as the birds flew through the trees, a river nearby was burbling along, and the wind was very soothing against my skin; everything about the situation screamed peace.  
I closed my eyes as I walked, soaking in the serenity and smiling gently; perhaps it was wrong of me, but I just couldn't care about where I was going when my surroundings were this beautiful.  
The calm was broken by a splash and a wet feeling surrounding my foot; I opened my eyes inquisitively, perhaps I had stepped in the river, though that would be odd, as the sound of water was still a ways a way.   
Blood gushed around my foot, seemingly coming from the ground directly below me in streams. My breathing hitched as I stared, I couldn't pull my eyes off the blood and for some reason, I couldn't get my leg to move.  
As I watched, the blood began to creep up my leg and faces began to swim in the red liquid. My body was frozen as screams began to echo from the blood that was now up to my knee.  
"Murderer!"  
"Monster!"  
"How could you?"  
Finally, I was able to move, my knee buckled, but I was able to catch myself, before bolting forward, trying to shake the bloody faces from my leg. My hands reached up to cover my ears, but the screams of the blood wouldn't be drowned out.  
An open door appeared before me and I sprinted through it, slamming it behind me before I collapsed to my knees, becoming a human doorstop as I tried to control my breathing.  
"Ember?" A young voice called out to me, I knew that voice, what...?  
When I looked up, Amber, my eight year old twin sister stood in front of me, smiling happily, "You're home! I though t I would have to wait forever for you to get home! You promised that we would go to the lake together, remember?"  
I blinked at her my eyes misting over as I saw her again, "Amber? You... You're here? How?" I jerked slightly in shock as I heard myself, my voice was much higher, much younger. When I looked down, I saw that my body was indeed smaller, I was eight years old again.  
Amber bounded over to me and grabbed my hands happily, "Of course I'm here, silly, where else would I be?" I grinned as she pulled me to my feet before pulling me into the tightest hug she could, "Now come on, if we wait any longer, the sun'll go down and we won't be able to go to the lake until tomorrow!"  
Our giggles bounced off the walls as we ran from the room, walking into my childhood home where my parents and other siblings sat, smiling at us. "Are you going to the lake today, my dears?" My father asked, his rich laugh echoing through the room as we nodded eagerly and walked past him.  
I reached out to the door handle, by was stopped as the light disappeared from the room. Confusion filled me as I turned around to ask Amber what was going on, only to see her standing in the middle of the room, a bright spotlight on her as she stared blankly at me.  
"Amber?" I asked hesitantly, taking a step towards her.  
"This is your fault, you know?" Her voice was monotone and lifeless, a far cry from how she normally sounded.  
"My fault? Amber you aren't making any sense, we have to go to the lake, remember?" As I took another step towards her, she began laughing, a chilling sound that sent shivers down my spine. "Amber?"  
"This is all your fault." She said again and as she said it, a drop of blood bubbled at the corner of her mouth before running down her chin and dripping onto the floor. My eyes followed the drip as it splashed down only to begin backing away slowly, staring in horror as blood began to well up around the drop until Amber was standing in a large puddle of blood.  
"This is your fault."  
I turned around and began pulling on the door desperately, a nearly illogical need to get away filling me as the door resisted every effort. A hand was laid on my shoulder before I was spun around to see my entire family standing there staring at me, blood pouring from every orifice on their faces.  
"This is your fault."  
The now lifeless eyes of my family bored into me as I slid down the door to pull my knees to my chin, tears leaking uncontrollably from my eyes as they began walking towards me.  
"This is all your fault."

 

"You killed us."

 

A small scream forced its way out of me as I bolted upright in my bed, panting heavily. My skin was slick with sweat as I buried my head into my hands, the cool air of my bedroom helping only slightly to calm me.  
I hadn't had that kind of dream in years, I hoped it would be gone by now but apparently not... Seeing the familiar sight of my bedroom back in Balsam Village helped me calm down bit by bit, and eventually, the room was silent once again.  
All this crap with Phantom Lord must have shaken me more than I originally thought, though it was just a dream for now, so I would simply have to deal with it. Nothing I could do for the moment.


	15. Cats and Kings

Have I mentioned how much I hate inaction? If not, well then, now you know, if I have, then it certainly bears repeating...  
The streets of Balsam Village are lovely, they truly are; the trees are gorgeous, the roads are perfectly set up to be a tourist trap, and the air has always felt so soothing, but when I had already been between here and Magnolia about five times this week. I was feeling more than a little cooped up.  
I could simply leave and go take out some monsters in the forest to kill time, but I had tested the old man enough lately, I really didn't need to push my luck... Because of that, I had latched on to the only intriguing thing that I could sense in the nearest five hundred mile radius, something I had noticed earlier during the Phantom Lord debacle. In fact, the only reason I remembered the mystery is because I was working hard on the guild, trying to distract myself from the stares of my guildmates who were more than curious when I found a bit of blood on the framing.  
This itself wouldn't have been anything odd, seeing as how it was a construction site full of exuberant fairies, but this blood struck me as odd. I examined it, away from the others of course, and the realized the oddest thing about it, this blood wasn't human blood...  
It wasn't animal blood either, which was my next thought, simply because that would be pretty common as well; no, this was something I hadn't encountered yet, but it tasted distinctly of fire, light, and some form of animal that I couldn't pinpoint. This, of course, caught my attention and since I was bored out of my mind, I got inordinately excited.  
It took some time, but eventually, I was able to hunt down who the blood belonged to, it was the orange haired playboy who had the odd feeling about him. I had intended to investigate him further, but I had basically forgotten until that point that he had piqued my interest.  
Now he was in my sights, meaning I was stalking him like a total creeper in the way that only I could pull off.   
He proved to be rather interesting, as it became apparent that something major was going on with him. I wasn't familiar with whatever species he was, but I assumed that phasing in and out of existence wasn't a common thing for them... at least, I hoped it wasn't, that sounded severely unhealthy.  
Research only did me so much good, but I was familiar with getting accurate information out of minimal resources and if I was correct, which I was 90% sure I was, then the orange haired man was, in fact, a spirit... which was something I never thought I would say.  
The Lion (it took time, but that's what his blood tasted like, don't ask me how I know that) had been spending quite a bit of time following around the blonde and taking on job after job that I could only follow him for partially. In fact, he seemed to be taking most of his jobs to Balsam village, which was the coincidence of all coincidences; though it seemed he had a reason for that as well.  
I wanted to confront him, but I figured I should probably stay away, we hadn't spoken much and I didn't want to push him for answers. I mean, he was probably really stressed right now and he didn't need me sticking my nose where it didn't belong. If these were his last days, then I didn't want to make his situation more complicated than it already seemed to be... Hahaha, yes I did.  
"Oi, Lion!" I called out as he got off the Balsam Village train station once again, causing him to jump about a foot in the air. That in and of itself was suspicious as I didn't use his name, nor did I make it particularly obvious that I was talking to him.  
He spun around, his eyes showing panic as he searched for whoever had called out to him, "Hey!" I waved cheerfully, catching his attention.  
I watched in amusement as he seemed to battle himself for several seconds, what the argument was, I had no clue, but my guess was that he was deciding whether or not to make a break for it.  
"Oh, it's you." The less than enthusiastic tone of his voice made me chortle slightly, he was so happy to see me, "Ember, right?" His voice became very falsely polite, which I simply shook my head at.  
I walked the rest of the distance towards him, still smiling happily as he watched me warily, "Yup, but you don't have to fake a polite tone with me, I was just wondering if you would like to come to my place for a drink since we're close."  
There was no obligation for him to come, in fact, I was pretty sure he would decline, but to my surprise, he nodded slightly, "What could it hurt?" He muttered under his breath, obviously not expecting me to hear him, "Sure, so long as you don't kill me while I'm there."  
Oh, he was cute, he must have looked into me a bit. Thankfully, there weren't many people at the train stop this time of day, so I could confidently open my home without anyone noticing. I gestured slightly for him to follow me as I walked to the wall and pushed the three rocks needed, waiting patiently for the click to indicate the mechanism had been unlocked. The lion's confusion was the best part though, I had only ever brought the Thunder God Tribe and the old man here, so I was rather excited to see someone else's reaction to this.  
As I turned around and walked to the now open pillar, the lion stood watching with an open mouth, "Um, Ember?" He asked hesitantly as I climbed in the exposed staircase before looking back at him, "I was kind of joking about you killing me, but this is a bit more than I expected... Where are you going?"  
My grin turned slightly feral as I stared at him, it was completely unintentional, but I can't say I was disappointed by the uncertain look I was being given, "I'm taking you to my home to get a drink, where else would I be going?" Yeah... I might have sounded a bit like I was going to kill him, but oh well, if he didn't want a free drink that was his problem, "If you're coming, hurry up, this panel won't stay open forever."  
I continued down the staircase, smiling slightly as I heard the lion crawl in uncertainly above me before the panel finally slid shut. Quickly, I grabbed the light lacrima before throwing it up to him, not wanting him to panic completely as this did look a bit like a murder hall.  
The short tunnel must have clipped him on the head, as I heard him cussing once I reached the wooden door, "Where the heck does she live? The most desireable torture chamber?" Oh, that was a good one, I couldn't help but wonder how he would react if I told him this place actually did have a torture chamber. That would probably send him right over the edge.  
"Oh yeah, watch your head," I called over my shoulder, only to get more cursing in response.  
I quickly opened the door and stepped into the bright white foyer, stretching slightly, that three-foot entrance never failed to make me feel at least a little old. "Welcome to my home, Lion," I turned around and watched as he stepped into my home, a look of complete shock on his face.   
Over the years I had updated slightly, many of the priceless stolen artifacts were gone, moved to one of the many unused bedrooms because I knew they bothered Freed, and in their place, I had put a bunch of trophies from the missions I had completed. The metal collar from my first ever mission was in a place of honor, hanging over the fireplace along with the lacrima bracelets that I had worn for so long.  
The whole place had taken on a different feel, and now it was ever so slightly more welcoming, and infinitely more legal guild friendly.   
The lion hadn't moved in about a minute as I allowed him time to take it in, staring around myself at the fond memories (in the corner was the mutilated lilac dress that Evergreen attempted to save after our first mission, for her efforts, I burned the damn thing and framed it just to spite her, it was fun)before I finally turned around and walked through the foyer and into the sitting room.  
"If your done gawking, I've got the drinks in here, just let me know what you want!" I heard footsteps, but I ignored him as I turned to the other new addition that Bickslow, Evergreen, and Laxus had been particularly excited about. A fully functional cherry wood bar with plenty of unique ingredients to mix for the perfect drink.  
None of us had known anything about mixing drinks when I first had the bar installed, but we were eager to learn; many hours were spent trying, and failing to master the art of the perfect cocktail until we were all at the very least passable as bartenders.  
Surprisingly, Bixslow ended up being the best at it... If he ever gave up being a wizard, he had a promising career as a bartender extraordinaire just waiting for him. That man could make drinks that I didn't even know were possible.  
Out of the corner of my ear, I heard the lion chuckle when he walked into the room heading straight for the bar, "I didn't take you for a drinker, Ember," He said playfully, apparently, the thought of alcohol had loosened his tension.  
I shrugged slightly as I got behind the counter, pulling out an apron pulling it on, "I'm not really, but my old team is, so I really didn't mind getting it installed," I think everything the lion had thought about me prior to this point was slowly being blown out the water as his face showed shock for the umpteenth time in the last ten minutes, "Now, what can I get for you?"  
"A spiked watermelon lemonade, if you have it," He was quick to throw in his preference, which made me smile, he definitely seemed like the type of guy to appreciate fancy drinks over the hard liquor. I deftly made the drink, spilling only once, which was pretty good for me before sliding him the drink that I had decided to make a bit fancier by garnishing it with some mint.  
He began sipping his drink as I quickly threw a bit of vodka into the shaker before adding in a few random ingredients and a simple syrup. A shake was all it needed before I poured it into a glass and walked around the bar to sit beside the lion.  
We both drank in silence for a few seconds before I sighed and set my now empty drink down, "So, you've been having a rough time, haven't you?"  
That was more than enough to surprise him, as he inhaled quickly and then began choking on the drink, I smiled slightly as I stood again and went behind the bar to fill my cup with water, one glass of hard liquor was my absolute limit, as I hated my brain when I got too drunk.  
"W-what do you mean by that?" He asked hesitantly, finally being able to breathe again after his coughing episode.  
I sighed and pulled out a tin of mints I kept on hand that I was completely addicted to, "Oh, you know," I casually unwrapped the mint and popped it in my mouth, "The whole, slowly fading out of existence thing, that looks pretty painful."  
Once again the lion was frozen beside me but I wasn't done yet, "I can't imagine it's been easy, being a spirit stuck in the mortal world; the information I had was limited, so I couldn't find an exact amount of time, but it seems that being here on your own power hurts like hell, and you've been a member of Fairy Tail for several years now. It must suck, knowing you've been dying for years and that you're finally at the end of your time.  
"I do have to wonder, what exactly did you do to get the boot from the spirit world. I mean, this may be a bit of a reach on my part, but I don't think I've ever seen a spirit that has stayed out here for as long as you have, so it seems like a pretty logical leap to assume that you just aren't capable of going back. Then you add to that the fact that you have shown a major aversion to all celestial mages in the past, which apparently includes the blonde, and it seems to me that oyu did something stupid... Or, at least, the laws of the spirit world found what you did to be stupid. How close am I, Lion?"  
I looked sideways at the lion, who was gripping his glass hard enough to make his knuckles go white, "Is this why you invited me here? To interrogate me?" The lion's voice was small, quivering with tension as he struggled to contain his emotions.  
If he expected empathy from me, he was going to the wrong person, "Yeah, kinda," I said casually, shrugging slightly as I took a large gulp of water, "I was bored and you were interesting. I've seen enough death to know when it's coming for someone, and you, my dear lion, have all the earmarks of a dying man."  
The sound of shattering glass made me tense up as the lion's glass went flying in multiple directions; he stood up angrily and glared down at me, but I just sat there calmly, sipping my water, "You don't know my situation and you never could. I am not here to be your toy, so find some other source of entertainment."  
He turned and stormed away, angrily opening my front door and slamming it behind him. Thankfully, my monitor showed that the station was clear, so as I walked calmly towards the door I was able to activate the sliding panel so he didn't have to suffer the embarrassment of coming back down to ask me to let him out.  
So I was right, was I? It looked like the investigation was going well, I couldn't wait to see what happened next.  
***  
I had to hand it to the lion, he sure knew how to pick a place to die. The waterfall was beautiful and the grave sitting on the edge of a precipice was suitably morose looking; beyond that, the sky was full of stars and the lion collapsed dramatically on the grave, groaning in pain. In all, this whole this was beautifully cinematic.  
He even managed to get the blonde to chase after him, which made me happy, this was better than any drama that people tried to put into plays.  
The only thing that bugged me was the fact that the name on the grave was slightly familiar and it was killing me. I knew a Karen Lillica, I know I did, but where from?  
This question was probably less important than the conversation that was happening between the lion and the blonde, but it was legitimately all I could think about. Where the hell did I know Karen Lillica from?!  
The sound of the waterfall blocked most sounds than even I could hear with my enhanced hearing, but through it, I was able to hear two words; Blue Pegasus. I knew that was another guild that had many of the more... flamboyant wizards out there... The master was insane, and then there was the guy who used fragrances in his magic who was positively creepy (I mean, seriously, so many people wasted a good assassin on dime a dozen thugs when there were real creepers like him out there that I could have been taking out.). I'm sure I had been there at least once before... Maybe...  
My eyes shot open wide as I remembered the blonde bimbo that the lion was mourning right now. She was a celestial wizard that abused the spirits she was contracted with. At one point I ran across her on a mission and mistook her for a bad guy. I took out three of her spirits before I was able to take her keys away from her and she pleaded with me that we were on the same side.  
Needless to say, I let her go, but not without something to remember me by, a nice long knife wound was more than adequate as I had prior watched her bitch slapping one of the spirits she used as cannon fodder. No, I joked about assassinating the perfume guy, no she is someone I would have taken out in a heartbeat back in the day.   
Wait, so the lion was punished for something to do with her? Why? If he killed her or something like that then he should be rewarded by the spirits, not punished.  
Now that I had figured out what was bugging me, I was able to give the situation my full focus. I was up on a cliff not too far from where the grave was, so while the waterfall blocked most everything, I could still hear some stuff if I focused on it.  
"Whoever decided that you were responsible needs to know they were wrong!" I grinned slightly at the balls the blonde had, her perpetual happiness irritated me, but she still was able to impress me here and there with how determined she could be.  
Before I could be too proud, I froze, and not because I sensed something dangerous... My muscles literally froze as my mind continued to race on; what the hell? I had no clue what was happening, besides the fact that I couldn't move and that there was now a giant blue man standing over us... Though right now, I was more concerned with the fact that I couldn't breathe!!!  
"Hello, my old friend," For some reason, I had a feeling that this whole freezing thing was supposed to be more all-consuming. It wouldn't surprise me if this was meant to freeze time rather than just freeze the muscles.  
"Hold on, that doesn't sound fair!" The blonde was yelling out something, but I was completely lost. No, this was definitely meant to freeze time, the water behind the really important blue guy was frozen too... I could feel how potent the magic was that surrounded me, so why was I only partially frozen?  
A sadly familiar ache began to fill me as I tried to force my lungs to take a breath, if I died here, then I really was going to come back to haunt the blonde and whoever this blue dude was, because of my magical immunity, this stupid thing only paralyzed my lungs, and maybe my heart, instead of actually freezing me in time.  
"I have made my judgment and it stands," The blue guy was going on about something to do with his judgment being final but I just didn't care like I normally would. I could feel my brain function slowing down as there was a rather terrible lack of blood.  
Just as my vision was greying out, a ball of pressure built up inside of me, rebelling against someone besides me controlling my blood. An involuntary tear trailed down my cheek as the ball continued to expand. I was familiar with the sensation of choking, but that didn't make the experience any more fun to deal with.  
When the pressure burst, it really chose to burst, a painfully hot flash tore through my body as my heart finally began to beat and air entered my lungs with an exceptionally loud gasp. My body continued to heave as though it had never tasted air before, which was close enough to the truth.  
I carefully curled up into a ball as I continued ignoring the situation that was developing around me, so this is what it felt like to have all the blood in your body stopped, was it? What a terrible feeling... So this is what my family felt, now I understand. I'm so sorry Amber.  
Finally, I was able to recover some, my body was still shaking, but at least I was able to sit up. The sight that greeted me was more than I ever thought, Lucy was sitting in the middle of a large group of spirits, who I had to guess she summoned. If this was her true power then color me impressed, even I could sense the amount of magic it took to pull something like that off.  
The spirits disappeared about as quickly as they came and the blonde fell after them, which was something I understood perfectly, I was about ready to join her on the ground again. I had been taking magic draining potions religiously for the last ten or eleven years, so I thought I would be used to the feeling of having no magic, but this was something else entirely.  
As tired as I was, I couldn't miss the blue guy saying one thing before he vanished, "Your passionate defense of my old friend has shown me that perhaps it was the rules that need to be fixed rather than the situation. For that, I have decided to allow Leo, my old friend, to re-enter the spirit realm." Well, I know I missed something big, but hey, it seems to have turned out well, so I'll just be happy for that.  
Slowly, I looked around as I looked for something to lean against, there was no way I would be able to stay upright much longer, and didn't want to miss anything. A small tree caught my eye and I made my way over to it, trying to not whimper as my whole body protested the movement.  
"How were you able to break through my spell?" A deep voice caused me to jerk in surprise, I was pretty out of it, but I didn't think I was so out of it to allow someone to get near me without noticing!   
As I looked up, I saw the blue man standing over me, curiosity shining through his eyes, "Who are you?" I grumbled, finally reaching my tree, which prompted me to let out a soft groan of relief.  
The blue man sighed slightly, "I am the Celestial King, no one should have been able to resist my spell, how were you aware enough to fight it?"  
You know, I probably shouldn't have blamed him for all this, as there was no way he could have known that I was partially immune, so all his spell did was try to kill me, but at this point, I was beyond caring. This prat locked an apparently innocent man out of the one place that he could survive, and then he allowed me to experience hell (Though it was probably necessary...), I was done.  
"You know what you can do with your questions?" I asked bitterly, "Shove them up your ass and choke. Go away." With that, I rolled over, blocking out one of the most powerful beings in the universe as I listened for him to poof away. I was done with this night.


	16. Summons

If I had been allowed to, I probably would have taken the next week after that ridiculous experience just to rest and recover, but I wasn't afforded that luxury. The very next day I had to be back in Magnolia, since the old man apparently had an instinctive trouble meter for me. I was torn between being impressed that he always seemed to know when I was about to get in trouble and being irritated that he was treating me like an untrustworthy dog that needed constant surveillance.  
Thankfully, I wasn't forced to sit around staring at everyone else who was making plans to go on missions as there was plenty of construction that I could help with around the guild... Oh, joy. It was something to keep me occupied, but it was a rather terrible way since I spent most of the time avoiding the entire guild, as most of them simply couldn't stop staring at me, it was like I was a unicorn of some type.  
I feel like that was a pretty accurate summary of my day, avoiding people, doing construction work here and there, and confronting the evesdropper from the other day.  
Oh yeah, I did mention her, right? She had been there when Laxus and I had almost gotten into a fight and I had been sensing her presence on and off since the Phantom Lord incident. The feeling I got from her wasn't malevolent, so I ignored it for the most part until today. I was bored, her attention was only slightly on me, and I didn't want to deal with anyone else.  
She was hiding in a pile of rubble that we had yet to get rid of when I decided to approach her (Which, coincidentally, lined up exactly with when most of the guild was taking their lunch breaks; there was absolutely no relationship in the timing. It certainly didn't have anything to do with the fact that the lion was back and had been trying to get me alone all day... Nope, not at all.), and her attention was on the perpetually naked icyman, so sneaking up on her was rather easy.   
I sat next to her and watched as the hearts in her eyes continued to grow the longer she watched him, "You know," I said casually, watching as she nearly jumped out of her skin, "Watching him won't make him take off more clothes."  
The woman's face flushed as she realized what I was implying, "Juvia did not make him take off any clothes, that is not why Juvia is here! Juvia is not a pervert." I laughed quietly as the poor woman, who I was guessing was named Juvia continued to try and defend her honor.  
"Calm down, I wasn't implying anything, Icyman does look like he has an okay body, so I can't blame you for practically drooling, and to make it worse he's been giving you a free striptease hasn't he? Maybe I was wrong, are you making him take off his clothes?" Her face continued to redden until I was afraid her face would explode there was so much blood in it. A small squeal was coming from her like a boiling teapot as she shook her hands frantically. I think I broke her.  
Insert sadistic giggle here.  
I allowed her to calm down slightly after that, sitting calmly and watching her seizure-like movements as she came to terms with my words, "Juvia... Juvia doesn't mean any harm... Juvia is not a pervert!"  
The temptation to keep egging her on was incredibly hard to resist, but somehow I managed, "I know," My voice was indifferent as I looked towards the rest of the guild, all of whom seemed to be gathered around the lion rather than paying attention towards the commotion going on over in our corner, which was incredible. "If I had sensed that you posed a threat we would not be talking right now. I would've called you out the instant you showed up."  
Obviously, I recognized her as the rain woman from Phantom Lord who helped Jose when he and I fought the first time. She seemed to be different though, not as somber and with a much smaller murder boner towards Fairy Tail, which was the key thing here.  
"Do you not recognize Juvia?" She asked with a stammering voice, "Juvia attacked your guild, why would you not, 'call me out,' as you say?"  
Valid question, but it was one that had a simple answer, "Because you have a different attitude now than you did then," I shrugged watching as the lion handed over what looked to be a bunch of tickets to the redhead, "Honestly, I can't exactly blame you for attacking us, it was under Jose's orders and he was a dick." My eyes wandered back over to the rain woman, who was watching me intently, "Besides, I can't say that you're any worse than me, so why in the world would I judge you if I've done shit that is a hundred times worse?"  
I almost hoped that she wouldn't remember why I would say that, but of course, her face softened slightly as she nodded, "Thank you, Miss Ghost-"  
Before she could continue, I cut her off, "Ember, just call me Ember, I left my old title behind and it would be bad for the guild if you dug it back up now." The rain woman (Yes, I already forgot her name, despite the fact that she was literally speaking in the third person) nodded again before a quizzical look grew on her face.  
"If it is dangerous for you to be seen as the ghost, why did you introduce yourself to Jose as such? Juvia doesn't understand."  
This was incredibly odd, I had never spoken to anyone this freely about my past since the only ones who knew were the Thunder God tribe and the old man; none of whom were particularly open about that topic. Yet here was this woman who was genuinely curious about my actions without seeming even slightly scared or disgusted.  
"Well," I started then faded off, I honestly had ever thought about how I would explain this to someone, "It was the only way to get Jose to trust me... Perhaps not trust me, but at least accept me as a valid threat. If I approached him in any other way, he would probably have brushed me off and I wouldn't have been able to fight him like that, so... yeah."  
This seemed to appease- I couldn't just keep calling her the rain woman, what was a nickname I would be able to remember?- Bluey, as she smiled brightly and lunged forward, wrapping me into a tight hug.  
I froze as she did this, which was understandable, I believe this was the first hug I had been given in many, many years, so for a few moments I was completely incapacitated as she began to speak, "Juvia thanks you then, Miss Ember! Juvia was afraid that no one would be able to look past what Juvia had done, so knowing that you can, makes Juvia so happy!"   
I struggled against her grip for a moment, my breathing picking up as I instinctively went into defensive mode. Finally I managed to get her arms off me as I jumped up and turned away from her, unable to stop the slight blush that spread across my face.  
"Would Juvia be able to call Miss Ember her friend? Juvia has never had a friend before, and Miss Ember has been kind to Juvia, so Juvia would be honored if Miss Ember would consent to this request."  
My face was still burning and I could feel the flush moving to my ears as I nodded slightly, not wanting her to see just how badly I was freaked out by the physical touch, "Sure, yeah... That would be fine," I murmured before walking away quickly, noticing that the Master had excellent timing, as he was now calling me over, saving me from the embarrassment that was this situation.  
***  
"You needed me, old man?" I asked gruffly as I ducked into the tent, still feeling the heat in my face as I cursed my human tendencies. Stupid blushing... What kind of stupid design flaw is that? Blood flowing to your face to indicate strong emotions? It doesn't even serve a purpose!  
The old man walked back to his seat, an uncommonly serious look on his face, "Yes, Ember, I am glad you're here, you see..." He drifted off awkwardly, which made me jerk my gaze to him, my eyebrow cocked curiously, "Ember, are you blushing?"  
Fuck. I covered my face quickly with my hand as I avoided his curious looks like the plague, "None of your business, old man," When I looked at him, his jaw was slightly slack as he stared at me in amazement.  
"I don't think I've ever seen you blush, what-"  
"Didn't you have something to tell me?" I cut him off harshly, not at all willing to deal with his excessive curiosity.  
Thankfully, he got the message as he coughed before reaching onto his desk and grabbing a letter, "Yes, sorry about that. We finally received a letter from the Magic Council. It took some time, but it looks like they have decided to make a move against the 'supposed' Ghost of Fiore." He looked up to see my reaction, but I had none to give, he wasn't telling me anything new, "The letter is mostly them stoking their own ego, but towards the end, they finally get to the point."  
I snickered as he said that, we shared similar views on how self-serving the council was and he had learned that he didn't need to hold back when it was just the two of us.  
"They demand that you go to Era immediately for interrogation and they make it clear that if we don't comply, they will come and drag you back in chain where you will be brought to justice for your many heinous crimes."  
Interesting, they made it sound like they could get a conviction, "Now why would I be stupid enough to run?" I muttered, shaking my head slowly, "Well, it looks like I'll be going then; unless you want me to try and make a break for it?" A gleam in my eye had the old man chortling slightly. It wasn't exactly an inside joke, but it was enough to break the tension for a small moment.  
The old man sighed slightly before jumping from his chair and walking to me, "I can't ask you to do this, Ember," He said seriously, grabbing my hands, "Even if your guildmates don't realize it, you've done so much for this guild. I don't know what would have happened if you didn't help us with Jose, and there have been other things beyond this. If you say you don't want to go, then I will fight the whole of the Magic Council for you... Just... Say the word Ember."  
I stared wide-eyed at the old man, he was seriously willing to fight the Magic Council if I simply said no to a summons? I hadn't done anything really, so why was he treating it like this huge thing?   
Swiftly, I dropped to one knee, grabbing his hands in mine as I stared him down, "Now why would I do that?" My voice was soft but stern as I spoke, "Why would I put anyone in danger if doing as I'm told allows me to mess with those high and mighty idiots?" His eyes widened in surprise as I grinned wryly at him, "You're underestimating me, old man, I've been expecting this for a while now and unfortunately for them, they're dealing with the best of the best when it comes to subterfuge. I wouldn't pass on this opportunity if my life depended on it."  
With a wink I stood and turned, preparing to leave the tent when a short cough from the old man stopped me, "Very well Ember, I give you leave to go to Era; however, you must promise me one thing," I looked over my shoulder slightly from the tent flap that I had pulled up ever so slightly, "You must return home to us Ember, this is non negotiable. You may be a wanted criminal and a rather terrible person at times, but you are still a member of Fairy Tail, and we need you, regardless of how much you downplay yourself."   
Man, he could be so cheesy at times, "Stop worrying so much, old man, you seem to be forgetting that I'm like a stray dog; you fed me, so now you won't be able to get rid of me even if you wanted to."  
With that, I lifted the tent flap and walked out, smiling as I strode past the group who were all now staring at me.  
Once I had gotten aways down the road I shook my head and sighed, "Don't worry, old man, I'm looking your way too." With that, I raised my right hand in the classic Fairy Tail Salute, uncaring of who saw. This wasn't for them anyway.  
***  
Back at the guild, Makarov watched as Ember vanished over the hill, her raised hand being the last thing to leave his sight as he stared after her, his own hand above his head in response, a lone tear tracking down his cheek, "Be safe, my daughter."


	17. Betrayal

When my train pulled into the station at Era a small group of Rune Knights surrounded the entrance. I mean, I knew they weren't messing around, but I didn't think they would go this far, how did they even know I was on my way anyways? Did the old man let them know?

As I exited, I was surrounded on all sides as the general populace looked at me with a great deal of confusion as I was treated like a criminal; I even saw some little kids pointing at me, asking their parents what was going on.

This all would have been fine, I could have accepted this level of suspicion if it had stopped there, but sadly, it didn't. A knight approached me with a pair of magic canceling handcuffs, which was stupid since the Magic Council had to know that I had a magic immunity.

I glared at the person harshly before they could even try to order me to putt he cuffs on, "I came here willingly, put those on me and we'll have a problem." 

The poor man backed away slowly, looking over his shoulder as a familiar face appeared, "It seems you haven't changed at all, Ember, why am I not surprised?"

"Lahar," I said, nodding my head in acknowledgment, we had worked together once or twice before, so I actually was able to remember his name, "What's with the precautions? Are you trying to egg me into fighting back?"

I tilted my head slightly as I watched him, a rather embarrassed look crossed his face as he shook his head, "Of course not, we are acting on orders from the Magic Council, that includes the handcuffs."

He pushed up his glasses as we stared at each other, he was always in business mode; even when I had finally coaxed him to go get a drink with me we spent the whole time discussing our case rather than actually relaxing... Come to think of it, he spent the whole night drinking water while I drank more than I usually did.

Of course, while I knew him well enough to know how serious he was, he knew me well enough to understand just how stubborn I could be, "You know my opinion on those idiots," My voice was still lighthearted, but I knew he caught the dangerous undertone, "I came as they requested so I have no intention of pandering to their inferiority complex by putting on those demeaning _things_. It's not like they would do anything to me anyways."

Lahar sighed heavily, shaking his head at my attitude, "Very well, just follow us please." He grumbled and turned around, walking out of the train station with his posse and me following him. I genuinely respected the guy, he was a hard worker and got results, but anything I could do to show a middle finger to the council and their plans gave me a warm tingly feeling inside.

As we made our way through town, I couldn't help but grimace at the attention my security detail was drawing. It felt like every eye in town was on us, well, more specifically, on me, the only one wearing black and being surrounded by the rune knights as I scowled at the guards when they sent me nervous looks.

If I was honest, they had plenty of reason to be afraid of me, but no, they just had to be nervous because I was slightly ill-tempered... There were so many better reasons for their fear yet they chose the most idiotic of them all! My inner grumbling may have become audible without my meaning them to because I caught one or two of the Rune Knights grinning slightly as we walked. 

Well now they weren't even afraid of me, so what was the point of all this?! 

Once we made it to the Magic Council's building, my escorts made to walk me down the hall towards the holding cells but we were intercepted before we could go too far by my least favorite person ever, "You finally came in, it's been far too long Ember."

I bowed my head and bit my lip to stop myself from cussing the idiot out, "Siegrain," I acknowledged hating myself for every word, "Come to gloat? I thought you would be too busy sucking your own dick to see little old me."

Siegrain laughed cheerily, a sound that sent chills down my spine, "You are hilarious as always Ember, though I am a tad bit disappointed to not see you in the handcuffs I asked the knights to put you in."

So he was the one responsible for that ridiculous request, why was I not surprised? My eyes flashed in irritation as I sneered at the blue-haired prick in front of me, "Oh sorry," I simpered, "I had no desire to play into your kinks, I'm sure the manipulbitch (manipulative bitch) would be more than willing to put them on if you asked nicely."

I knew it was a stretch, but I was rather disappointed when Siegrain simply smiled politely... I knew he was too straight-faced to fall for that. "Speaking of Ultear," He said casually, jumping topics easily, "She wanted me to say hello to you, apparently she had missed you, though I have no idea as to why."

My eyes rolled involuntarily, if Ultear missed me, then I was a purple dragon. There was a reason I called her Manipulbitch after all. Not long after we first met, I managed to get a sample of both her and Siegrain's blood to analyze... Don't ask me how, that was a memory that was better forgotten... So humiliating.

Anyways, as far as I knew Ultear had some sort of strange control over Siegrain that I could only assume was being used for ill intent. Why did I not tell anyone about that, you may ask? Well, it's simple. None of that was my problem. If I was ever placed in a position to use it, then I would wholeheartedly, but for now, they could keep their weird ass relationship that I really didn't want to question.

"Oh really?" I asked, my voice going up an octave as I allowed the sarcasm to come flowing out strongly, "Perhaps we'll have tea at some point, then we can go shopping for lacey delicates!" 

As I spoke, I couldn't help but notice Lahar sending a glare my way, he could be irritated all he wanted, that wouldn't change the fact that Siegrain brought out the absolute worst in me.I'm sure we would have continued until the council needed me, but apparently Lahar was done with our rude banter. I was pushed from behind, causing me to stumble slightly as I was led past Siegrain towards the holding cell.

Despite the fact that Siegrain seemed as normal as he ever did, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Maybe it was the way that his eyes lingered on me for just a second longer than normal, or maybe it was the fact that as I passed him a rather large amount of energy came from him, attempting to attach to me... Or maybe it was the fact that I watched as Ultear smirked at me from the sidelines, watching me eerily. Yeah, they weren't very good at this whole, 'subterfuge' thing, were they?

At this point, they might as well just tell me that they were up to something, rather than trying to make it appear all cloak and dagger, because they were about as subtle as a clown at a funeral.

Finally, the Rune Knights stopped in front of a cell, all watching each other rather warily, apparently, it wasn't very often that people gave the oh so powerful Wizard Saint lip.

"You never fail to make a spectacle of yourself, do you?" Lahar asked wearily, as though he was a parent watching over his troublesome child. That might not be too far from the truth.

I grinned at him, allowing a small amount of my sadistic intent to come out, "Because mocking people is so much fun, didn't you know that, Lahar?" He didn't answer, instead gesturing to the cell we were standing in front of. a serious look on his face, "Why the long face, Lahar?" I cooed, which immediately made him scowl, "Are you worried that I'll be found guilty?"

As much as I mocked him, I couldn't help but worry the same thing myself. Despite all my brave words to the old man and Lahar, the power of fear was often stronger than their sense of reason. It wasn't uncommon for people to convict with only circumstantial evidence because they were afraid of the threat. Even though the Ghost of Fiore had been inactive for eight years now, people were still scared of me, they were still terrified by whatever it was that I represented to them, which meant that the likelihood of them acting irrationally was high.

The door shut behind me, and finally, Lahar spoke, "If you have anything to confess, you should speak now." His voice was resigned, he must be thinking the same thing I was, I would likely go to jail today.

"Do you really have so little faith in me?" I asked quietly, no humor left in me as I allowed the toll that was being taken on my body to show.

A small scoff came from Lahar, which would have made me ecstatic if the situation wasn't so serious, "I think you know as well as I do that the Council doesn't like you or your guild, if you have anything to confess, it would only be in your benefit for it to come out now."

We were still facing away from each other and I could hear the other Knights walking away as we spoke, their job was done, so I was glad that they gave up a few moments alone, "Well," I faded off slightly, "If I go to jail today, know that I am innocent. You've worked with me Lahar, do you really think that I could be the Ghost? After everything I've done."

Silence filled the hall before Lahar sighed slightly, I was assuming he slumped slightly where he was standing, "Unfortunately, the decision isn't up to me... Though, if it's any consolation, if there's anyone who can get through a situation like this on top then it would be you." 

I couldn't help it, a wry grin crossed my lips as I nodded, "And I have every plan to do so, don't worry." A quick turn showed that Lahar was looking at me from the corner of his eyes, he nodded as well and walked away, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

***

Enough time passed after that to where I was about ready to pull out my hair, I was able to count all the bricks in the wall in the downtime, and all the tiles on both the ceiling and floor, lining them up and trying to find a parallel that wasn't there. By this point, I was undoubtedly an expert on this room, so if the council needed to ask an authority a question about the room, I would be more than qualified to answer.

Not only was I coming off a week of inaction, I also was stuck in here with nothing to do! I'm pretty sure I would have struggled with this even as a far more patient assassin because there was nothing to distract me from my thoughts and the sounds coming from down the hall of life happening as it usually did.

Maybe I underestimated the council and they decided to sentence me while I was safely in a cell and I would be delivered their sentence via letter or some other shit like that. I had paced the length of my cell (ten feet) over a hundred times and sat in the terrifying death trap known as the wooden chair only three times before feeling like it was plotting to kill me and getting up.

My next step was lying on the bed, but since I was still a bit tired from the whole, 'attempted murder via a celestial being' thing, so... that was probably a bad idea right now. 

A slight hissing came from the vent above me, causing me to look up in suspicion. I already wasn't a big fan of that vent as it was the perfect size for someone to crawl through, but for the most part, I had just ignored it, after making sure my daggers were in place, just in case.

A quick look at the vent showed a rather opaque gas seeping through slowly; it was a pretty dense gas, so I could see it pooling up on the floor as it billowed, a distinct citric smell filling the room. Either this was a way for the Council to subdue me without needing to come in here, or something was desperately wrong.

I knocked on the door and called out, but there was no response, distantly I could hear shouting, which made me assume that something was desperately wrong. As much as I wanted to just ignore the gas since my blood immunity would protect me from most foreign substances, there was something off about the gas. The way it was billowing seemed less like a gas that was leveling out and more like a living creature searching for its prey.

Carefully, I climbed onto the rickety death trap as I stood above the steadily rising fog, I still wasn't too worried, but if my experience as an assassin taught me anything, it was to not underestimate anyone... Well, anything in this case. I would be a complete idiot to not recognize the strong magical presence that was coming off this gas. Either this was created with a strong potion, or it was being controlled by some one's magic, either way, it was bad news.

Soon enough, the gas reached the point where I was breathing it in with every breath, I could feel my blood rejecting the substance as it entered my bloodstream, but my lungs weren't quite so hearty, a cough escaped me, and soon I was hacking up a storm, struggling to take in anything. 

What was happening? This shouldn't be possible! What?

I got off the chair and made my way to the vent, trying to stay standing as a wave of dizziness overcame me. Blood spattered out as I coughed, my lungs were reaching their limit even as I reached up to the grate and tried to get my head out of the still descending stream. This was odd, even with this, my immunity should protect me from this, but somehow the gas was targeting my lungs instead of my blood which is why I was now hacking up said lungs.

I almost got my head above the stream when my fingers slipped and I crashed down hard, cracking my knee on the bed frame as fell to all fours. A small moan escaped me, but that couldn't last long as I continued coughing.

The light around me was dimming as it was muted by the gas, or at least, that's what I thought until I looked at the door and saw it rippling... Maybe I was just about to pass out.

A small pool of blood covered the floor where I was, propping myself up against the wall. This wasn't any ordinary condensed irritant, this was created to be lethal. If I didn't have an immunity I had no doubt I would be dead right now.

I could barely see the bed in front of me as my lungs continued their convulsions, which made it impossible to breathe. I tried to find that sensation that filled me when the celestial spirit king tried to take control of my blood, but nothing was there. 

I... couldn't... breath.

A glass vial from the vent fell on my head as I lay there, trying to take in any form of oxygen, which felt like adding insult to injury. It wasn't much, but perhaps it would allow me to find out who did this before I either passed out or died, not that it would do much good, but I was stubborn if nothing else.

My hand inched along the ground as I tried my best to reach for it, it felt as though I was reaching through concrete with how much effort one simple gesture took. By this point, it felt like glass was being raked along the insides of my lungs as they continued to heave and blood was spilling out of my mouth almost constantly... Or at least, it felt like it was.

Once I finally got my hands on the vial, I could no longer see, my world was muted and all I could hear was the door opening while soft footsteps came towards me. My hand felt around the bottle desperately, feeling for anything that would help me identify who could be doing this to me.

As I was picked up off the ground, I finally felt something that made my heart stop. I couldn't feel much, but I was able to pick up one detail... An eye, a fucking eye.

You want to know why the eye bugged me so much, it was because the only person who grew an eye with a swirling design behind it that I had ever come across was none other than my dear old pal and business partner, Gavin.

Fuck you too Gavin.

 

 


	18. Captive Intent

The first thing I noticed as I returned to consciousness was the fact that I was lying on a rather comfortable bed, of course, the very next observation was that I couldn't move my hands or my legs, which was irritating.   
Everything that happened before I passed out was hazy, to say the least, I remembered the smoke and the eye on the glass bottle, but that was it. I was stressed and kind of just wanted to find Gavin before giving him a black eye. It wasn't exactly his fault as he was a merchant who specialized in the darker side of the business, but that didn't mean I was going to ignore this.   
That gas was designed to kill in a rather sadistic manner and I couldn't help but think that it was designed with me in mind. I mean, how many people have not only a magical immunity, but also blood that rejects most foreign substances. Were those shaky grounds to build an argument on? Absolutely. Did I get a gut feeling that I was right to suspect him? No doubt. I had known Gavin for over a decade and he was an opportunistic bastard through and through.  
Now that my brain had worked through that, I was able to acknowledge my current situation; you know, the one where I was tied up and completely immobile? Yeah, that one.  
In all honesty, it didn't take too much brain power to figure out who could have done this, I just had to think back to who was acting weird when I first arrived, Siegrain and Ultear. As I mentioned, they were terrible at the whole subterfuge thing, so if it wasn't them, I would be surprised indeed.  
Thankfully, whoever kidnapped me didn't seem to be in the mood to wait, as only a moment later the door opened behind my head where I wasn't able to see and footsteps entered, "It's good to see you awake Ember, you've been out for longer than I thought you would be." Siegrain's voice had me doing a small victory fist pump, I totally called it, "I must apologize for the harsh measures that were employed to bring you here, unfortunately, you've proven to be a difficult person to capture, which made the gas necessary."  
That must mean that he had attempted to kidnap me before and simply failed each time, which made me a little irritated because that meant that I had been oblivious to each of them. Either that or he was just so bad at it that the attempts weren't worth noticing... Yeah, I was going to go with the second option.  
My bindings were secure enough to have begun cutting off circulation, "You mean that you didn't want to cause me that amount of pain?" Siegrain had walked around the bed and was now sitting on a chair, staring at me with a small smirk as I gasped theatrically, "I'm hurt, Seigrain, I thought I meant more to you than that!"  
As I spoke, my eyes wandered Siegrain's figure, noticing some major differences; The look in his eyes was far more unhinged, which didn't surprise me too much, and he was wearing a dark cloak that covered his eyes slightly instead of his usual white attire... Normally that wouldn't mean much, I mean, people have more than one outfit all the time, but this was different because Seigrain made a point of being the symbol in white.   
It's not like any of us thought he was more virtuous as a result, so the effort was a waste to me, but it's not like I was going to tell him how to live his life. He could wear whatever the hell he wanted and most people would immediately sense the douchebaggery that he carried around like a badge of honor.  
I watched as Seigrain's lips tilted up into a smirk, "You put on such a strong mask, but I wonder if you would still be able to keep the facade up if people found out what you were hiding." He leaned forward, apparently expecting that to be a heavy blow for me. "And you seem to be making a mistake, you see, I am not Siegrain, I am his twin brother, Jellal."  
Did he really think I would fall for an excuse as flimsy as that, tacked onto the end of his supposedly devastating remark like it was an afterthought? He really was terrible at this!  
I couldn't move much to display my irritation, so I instead lifted my head slightly before allowing it to fall, "Jellal, Siegrain, whoever you are, I don't care, you are the same person and none of your pathetic lies will change my mind." I paused briefly, allowing that to sink in before grinning wryly, "And what are people supposed to find out? That I hate everyone? If that's the case then I hope you know that that isn't a secret, in fact it's pretty well known by now."  
Siegrain's grin never faltered as he considered me, "Well, I wouldn't say that." He murmured tilting his head slightly, "I am impressed that you found my secret out so quickly, though I suppose I shouldn't expect any less from the infamous Ghost."  
Found him out? When did I do that? He was the one who seemed to be jumping at the opportunity to reveal his secrets. His brain must be addled from the constant connection with the manipulbitch as his thought processes weren't too clear.  
Beyond that, he seemed to have found me out, if him calling me Ghost was any indication, but I was a bit better than him, I knew better than to just out and admit everything because someone insinuated something vague.  
"What the hell are you high on, Siegran?" My voice was waspish as I attempted to burn holes in his skull with my gaze, "Do you seriously believe that I'm the Ghost? I was only ten when they were at the height of their crime spree. If you want to pin that title on me, you'll have to give me more evidence than just you saying so."  
Siegrain, or Jellal, or whoever he was, snorted disdainfully before reaching into a pocket that I could barely see before he brandished a file full of papers at me, "These are confessions," He proclaimed pompously, "Of two members of Phantom Lord who were present when you provided evidence to Jose that you were, in fact, the Ghost of Fiore and that he contracted several assassinations from you. How can you deny that?"  
Once again, he said that as though it was the be all, end all of information, but while I could tell that he had a solid lead with this line of thinking, it still wasn't enough to prove much at all, so I had no intention of opening up just yet. "Word of mouth is the least reliable form of evidence, how can anyone prove that what they said wasn't procured under duress, or that I was simply presenting facts that I had researched prior to get Jose to trust me? That would make sense, wouldn't it? The council does know about my wonderful researching abilities, don't they?"   
My voice was sweeter than honey as I asked that, mainly because I had gotten Siegrain's predecessor fired after I dug up some unsavory information about his relationship with prostitutes or something else like that... Did I mention that the Council didn't like me?  
Once again, it seemed like Siegrain wasn't even phased by my words as he smirked slightly, "You know, you don't need to hide, my dear Ghost, I'm not on the side of the council either, so what's the harm in admitting what we both know to be true. I poured over both of those testimonies, as well as the one provided by Jose himself and while neither of them held anything overwhelmingly convincing about you, many of the details you gave out were things that no outside observer could pick up on.  
"For example," He said, watching my reaction carefully, "You tell Jose that he sent request of things to do with the hit, many of which were cruel and unusual torture methods, which caused an, and I quote, 'visceral reaction in the master.' Jose was shaken up after this, and seemed to believe you from then on. How do you explain away knowing small facts like that, when no one but Jose and the Ghost would have access to that information?"  
Could I explain that away? I pondered for a moment, giving myself time to go through my options. That was a fair point, and he said he was no longer working with the Magic Council so it may not cause too much harm to tell him at least some of the truth. On the other hand, even if he was no longer working with the council, how could I know that he wouldn't just use that information to black mail me, or turn me in anyways... It hardly felt worth the risk.  
I opened my mouth, about to explain away his evidence when he cut in over me, "There's no need to deny it, I simply want your help with a few small projects, then you'll be free to go back to Fairy Tail and live the live as the person you created."  
Did he really think that I would take that terrible excuse for reassurance? I was so close to just spitting in his face and allowing him to react however he wanted too when Siegrain lifted up a small monitor for me to look at, "If you say no, I can't guarantee her safety."  
A flash of vivid red was all I needed to see, somehow this scumbag somehow got a hold of the redhead. Now I wanted more than ever to drive a sword through his eye... Not that I would... On purpose.  
This changed the whole situation, because now, instead of it just being me I had to look out for, which would have been ridiculously easy even in a situation like this, I also had to keep an eye on her, because there was no way in hell that I was allowing him to hurt Fairy Tail like this.  
I heaved a deep sigh before turning my head to Siegrain and rolling my eyes, "Okay, so you may have gotten it right once, what do you want? A fucking medal?"  
He hummed slightly in response, finally relaxing, "So, Erza is the one to get you to open up, is she? How interesting."  
As he mused this new development, I took a moment to take inventory of what equipment I had on me, obviously I couldn't get anything right now, but it was good to know. I had five knives hidden on different areas of my clothing, including the one sewn int the collar that was dipped in the sedative, a magic cancelling lacrima, three magic draining potions, and eight darts that were specially dipped in a strong muscle relaxant. I wasn't as stocked up as I would like to have been, but now was not the time for regrets.  
By this point, my hands were completely asleep, which made me grimace and shift uncomfortably, "So we've established that I am the Ghost, can you please get me out of these ridiculous restraints?"  
Siegrain chuckled menacingly, "Do you really think I'm that stupid?" I deadpanned at that, I was more than willing to tell him exactly what I though of him, and I think he knew that because he quickly coughed, "Never mind, I think I would prefer not to know the answer to that. I'm not about to let the most infamous assassin in the whole country free without some guarantees. Not that I think you can best me, but you certainly would be a pain to deal with; I cannot allow you to put a wrench in my plans."  
I continued watching him passively, if there was ever a person who was into villainous rants, it was him.  
"As I mentioned, I would like your help, and if you agree to help me, I will allow your guildmate to live, along with the other members of Fairy Tail who have infiltrated the tower, hoping to rescue their comrade."  
If he actually intended to keep his 'guests' safe, I would eat my knives. Siegrain had just never struck me as the kind of person who cared all that much about being a good host which was on brand for him and it gave me so much more reason to play along with this little charade until I found a weak spot I could take advantage of.  
"Fine, I'll help, just get these damn restraints off me!" I growled out ferociously, let him think that my major weak point was my guildmates and then hit him where it hurts, taking the threat away once and for all.  
A few quick strokes of his knife and I was sitting up, rubbing my sore wrists that had taken the majority of the punishment.  
"Before you can help me, I would like to introduce you to the other group I enlisted to help me, you can come in now!" The door opened again and this time a single long haired man walked in, bowing his head respectfully.  
"Miss Ghost, it is an honor to meet you, we have long heard stories of your feats and have looked up to you for them. The most efficient assassin in history." His voice was quiet but there was something weird about it... like he had an undertone of someone else speaking at the same time.  
I glanced at Siegrain for an explanation, since he just loved giving out exposition, "You may not recognize their face, but I am happy to introduce you to Trinity Raven. I was lucking enough to be able to hire them out from Death's Hand."  
His explanation made sense, too much sense. Death's Hand was a guild specifically for assassins, one that I had had an ongoing battle with up until the point when I joined Fairy Tail. The name Trinity Raven even struck a chord, as I remember them beating me to several jobs before I killed a former member just to get them to back off. Death's Hand enjoyed the idea of having the corner on the assassination market, so the fact that I operated independently of them pushed all the wrong buttons.  
It didn't help that the thieves guild I was originally brought into had a cordial relationship with them, so when I broke all ties as the sole surviving member, they hated me with a passion, especially when my notoriety surpassed theirs.  
A malicious sneer grew on my face as I stared down an old rival of mine, if I remembered correctly, part of what made Trinity Raven so special was the fact they were able to exist in a single body until their job required otherwise of them. "So, you're still around are you? I would have thought that a group of amateurs such as yourselves would have given up years ago. At least I knew when to quit."  
A bald face lie... mostly. Trinity Raven certainly wasn't known for their digression, and more often than not a trail of bodies followed them, which I believe I've made my opinion about those types of assassins known. I didn't like them, and I didn't like Trinity Raven, they were so cocky with their successes.  
The man sighed deeply, bowing his head slightly, but even I could sense his irritation that was thinly veiled, "We'll admit, we didn't expect you to be this young, Miss Ghost, it is shocking indeed."  
I didn't dignify them with an answer as I stood and looked back at Siegrain, "So what exactly do you want me to do? I'm bored of this shit already."  
Siegrain sighed, "Must you antagonize everyone you meet, Ember? I would prefer that everyone get along for this mission."  
A snort erupted from me, making both Trinity Raven and Siegrain look at me quizzically, "Seriously? You want rival assassins to get along just because you say so? What kind of fantasy world are you living in? Come on, you apparently are trying to conquer the world which won't happen if we're all sitting here in a bedroom talking about how much I hate both of you."


	19. Ember's First Christmas

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ember's voice cut through the air like a knife, causing the three young teens to flinch as they paused their decorating.  
Laxus, who was lounging casually on the couch refusing to take part in any of this, looked up from his book briefly to answer Ember "These idiots decided to decorate your mansion for the holidays."   
Evergreen, Freed, and Bixslow had long since lost the color in their faces as they stared at Ember, unsure whether they should be expecting a quick or a slow death. Despite this, none of them put the ornaments they were holding down, perhaps this angel of death would be kind enough to allow them to finish decorating the tree first, at least then their deaths would be festive.  
Anyone with half a brain would recognize the humor that filled Laxus' face, it seemed that he was a little excited about watching Ember, who had proved herself to be a bit of a powder keg when she was irritated, get mad at the three instead of him.  
It had only been six months since Ember joined the Thunder God Tribe, which was not enough time for Ember to fully open up. Sure, no one doubted her loyalty, as she had already proven that she was more than willing to stick her neck out for their sakes, but she was still a rather sadistic bitch as far as everyone was concerned.  
For the most part, no one assumed that they really 'knew' Ember, she was closed off and sarcastic as a way to protect herself, which also meant that Laxus was the only one who was comfortable being alone with her. He had seen one or two more emotions than everyone else, so he felt confident that she would hate the fact that the home that was passed on to her by her mentors (who no one could decide whether she loved or hated), was being desecrated by the holiday spirit.  
He was wrong.  
Ember's face deadpanned slightly before she tilted her head in confusion, "I think we must have very different versions of the holidays..." She trailed off uncertainly and looked around the room at the sparse amounts of pine branches that were strewn about in a manner that was probably meant to be festive.  
The team gaped at her, this was the first time any of them had seen Ember look even remotely out of place, let alone uncertain! Evergreen especially felt that there was no way the badass assassin was even capable of emotions like that (Yeah, she looked up to Ember slightly, so what?!)  
Freed is the one who finally stepped forward, a curious look on his face, "What do you mean?" He asked cautiously, not really wanting to poke the bear, but he knew no one else was brave enough, "How did you celebrate the holidays?"  
It was then that the whole Thunder God Tribe nearly fainted as yet another expression crossed Ember's face, pain and something that may have been a kin to sadness. It truly was a Christmas Miracle, the hard to read Ember was finally opening up!  
It was slight, but they still caught the wince that tore across Ember's face as Freed asked her that, "Oh, well... I'm not sure celebrating is a good term for what my mentors did." As Ember looked around, she noticed that everyone's eyes were riveted to her... Perhaps they had earned just a slice of her story.  
She exhaled harshly looking away from the group before forcing out a chuckle, "Geez, it's like you guys just saw a ghost. How about a deal, I tell you about how I... Celebrated this season every year up till now, then you have to tell me what in the world you are doing dragging a twelve foot tall tree into my... our home for."  
Everyone nodded (Including Laxus, but he was pretending to pay attention to his book) and Ember began her story.  
Flashback  
Snow covered the mountainside as a short line of people walked along a obscured path, the snow was deep enough that every step made the adults of the group sink in snow that went to their knees; which was so much worse for the only child of the group. Each new step the young girl took forced her to fight through snow that neatly covered her hips and most of her stomach.  
You have to understand something, my family died when I was young, so I was raised instead by bandits who really only cared about the bottom line and making sure all the members of the guild were pulling their own weight. That included me.  
She knew they were heading somewhere, they had come this way last year, but she really didn't understand why they had to climb a mountain to get there. Magical cars existed, or they could use a cart, or even harness one of the many horses that were just sitting around town. Any of those options had to be better than walking through this! Yet, the girl did not complain, she knew far too well that her mentors would not take kindly to complaints.  
In order to be sure that I didn't slack in my training, my mentors found a... Unique way of motivating me.   
Finally, just over the next swell of the hill a dark hole came into view; it was spewing steam, which was incredibly hard to see against the grey sky, but the whole thing reminded the young Ember of a dragon, which was a really cool thought.  
Ember raced forwards towards the hole, as the snow was melted near it and the steam meant that it had to be warmer than outside where flakes were beginning to fall from the sky again. A low chuckle came from behind her, one of the faceless guild members who wasn't very important, as Ember didn't care enough to learn their name.  
"So eager, I wish I could bottle your energy, I could be twice as productive."  
The person jerked to the side as one of Ember's mentor slapped the man, "Comments are not appreciated, stay quiet or you'll be going in instead of the girl."  
Of course, Ember paid no heed to their conversation, only wanting to get out of the dreadful snow. Yes, she remember what had happened the year before, but she had been through enough of her mentors sadistic training, that this really felt like a drop in the bucket.  
A hand landed on Ember's shoulders, making her look up into the eyes of her mentor, the other one had to stay back at the guild, before she was shoved into the hole and a cover was drawn over the entrance, trapping her in.  
The cave was a nesting ground for several types of nasty critters, though I had no idea what that meant, all I cared about was that my mentor would be coming back the next day to either take me to a cave further up the mountain with bigger creatures for another night, or collect my body.   
Even then I was taught that failure meant death and success only lead to greater struggle. In total, I was in the mountains for three days a year, surviving in places that many would consider uninhabitable before coming back to the guild and falling asleep for a full day before I continued working.  
Flashback Over  
When Ember looked back at her team, she blanched slightly, Bixslow, and Evergreen were both sobbing while Freed looked like he was struggling to contain his tears. Laxus looked terrified, but in a 'manly' way.  
In one swift move, three of the four launched themselves forward to try and envelop the girl in a hug, but Ember was too quick. Instead of a hug, the three ended up on the floor, staring tearily up at Ember.  
"You poor thing! Why would someone do that to you?" It was Evergreen who spoke out, her eyes sad.  
That was all it took before a the other three began blabbering out how sorry they were that Ember never was able to experience a real Christmas and that she was treated so terribly.  
Slowly, tick-marks began appearing on Ember's forehead as she listened to this, the last thing she wanted was pity, which meant that she wasn't particularly happy at the moment, "Guys," She growled out, the only warning the trio was given before they all cried out in pain, a small lump forming on the top of their heads. "I'll say this once," Ember stood above them all, glaring like an irritated angel, "My past is not something I want pity about. You were curious so I told you, that is all."  
Silence descended on the group as that was taken in, it was fairly obvious that the three wanted to keep talking to Ember and lamenting about her lack of a childhood, but they sensed that continuing in that route would probably lead to them spending Christmas out cold.  
Finally, Bixslow stood up and smiled slightly, "Well, thanks for telling us about that, now for our end of the deal." Quickly, he walked to the tree and grabbed an ornament that was on the floor. "You told us about you, so would you mind it if we showed you what Christmas meant to us?"  
The other two seemed to understand what Bixslow was doing, as they quickly joined him, nodding emphatically. Now, Ember had been at this a long time, so she easily recognized the trap that was being laid. Unfortunately for her, she didn't see a way to avoid this without hurting everyone, which would lead them to moping throughout the rest of this 'holiday season.'  
By the time Ember nodded reluctantly it was already too late, hands wrapped around her wrists as she was pulled up to the tree and the three tried to explain what it meant. Most of what they were saying was complete gibberish, but slowly Ember got the idea of just what was so special about this 'Christmas' that she had heard so much about. Though, the most helpful ones were certainly Laxus and Freed, who chimed in with clarification at just the right moments.  
The trio changed gears quickly, moving from explaining the whole season to forcing her decorate the tree with random looking, glass balls and other ornaments that seemed completely impractical. But that wasn't all, from there, Ember was forced to wrap some presents that Bixslow apparently bought for Evergreen, to gingerbread house building, to reading terribly written books on Santa Claus himself.  
By the end of an hour, Ember was about ready to go jump in off a cliff, but she couldn't bring herself to get rid of the pests.  
Even Laxus got involved at one point, helping with the cookies, creating people who were then sacrificed to the Great Gods (Mainly Freed) in order to ensure a good harvest the next year.  
Half of Ember wanted to say that this had to be a joke. There was no way that any of this shit about a mythical being flying around and giving presents to all the good children was real... Could it be?  
Ember's group collapsed one by one as they did random stuff that was apparently linked to the season until she was the last one standing.  
Quietly, she dimmed the lights and threw blankets over her team, smiling fondly at the many silly memories that they had made in this one night.  
The couch was soft and inviting as Ember pondered the whole idea of what she had been told. Christmas? Santa Claus? It all seemed far fetched, but the light in everyone's eyes (and yes, that includes Laxus) showed just how much those memories meant to her friends.  
"Perhaps, I can give this a go, maybe then I can learn to smile like they do." Ember's voice was so quiet at that point that she couldn't even hear herself.  
"How nice it must be."


	20. The Ghost Returns

A quick tour of Siegrain's evil lair (By now, it was fairly obvious that he didn't like the name Siegrain... Which was more than enough reason for me to call him by that anyway), and I was sent out into the lower levels of the tower to 'patrol.' This was an easy excuse to get me out of his way and out from under his skin. I think that even as the big bad Jellal could only handle so much time being in the same room as me, seeing especially since there was an endless number of topics in which I could irritate him with when we were trapped within twenty feet of each other.  
Besides the fact that neither of us would have survived each other's company for too much longer, there was too much I needed to think about without him around. Just the tip of the iceberg would have to be the fact that Siegrain had the redhead captive and that he obviously intended to sacrifice her for some reason that he didn't want to tell me. After that, I could think about needing to dispose of Trinity Raven before news of my continued existence made it back to Death's Hand. I really didn't want to kill anyone, but that was lower on my list of priorities than making sure that no one I cared about got hurt.  
If word about my existence spread, I had no doubts that dark guilds all over would be sending people to check my last known location, which would lead them straight to my friends.  
As I walked past a room with far too many cats, I ground to a halt; an irritatingly familiar voice was coming from inside the room, followed by a high-pitched voice that had me facepalming just out of sight of the idiot in the room. Of course, that pink haired idiot had gotten wrapped up in this, and if he was here, I had no doubt that the rest of his group had somehow gotten wrapped up in all this... They were all magnets for trouble. (Quick clarification, trouble was not attracted to them, they watched trouble happen from about twenty miles away and came running, meaning the fault was solely with them.)  
I'm sure Siegrain would have loved me to run in there and finish him off, but I happened to be lacking all forms of motivation to help this dirtbag.  
Sure enough, as soon as I was about a corridor away from the pink haired idiot, I think Icyman called him flames for brains, Siegran's voice echoed slightly around me, "May I ask why you didn't engage? I believe that is why I brought you here."  
My eyes instinctively rolled at the stupidity, "No, that's what you brought Trinity Raven here for, you still haven't told me what I'm here for. Until somebody fills me in, I don't really feel motivated to do anything but walk around, that make sense, Siegrain?"  
His exasperation was palpable, but if anything, that made my sadistic side come out to play even more, "I thought I told you, I need your help with my current... project," Could he not just say experiment or something like it? "Your job is to contain the situation and make sure it doesn't get out of control."  
"Then what the hell is Trinity Raven here for?" I asked incredulously, that sounded like I was to patrol the whole tower.  
A heavy sigh reached me and I could almost see Siegrain pinching the bridge of his nose, "They are to assist you and deal with the members of Fairy Tail more directly, you are simply here for backup in the unlikely event that one of them is beaten. I would also enjoy having your assistance when it comes time to break the fairies' spirits, that would prove to be rather amusing."  
So that was his goal, interesting.  
I sighed heavily, not wanting to show just how irritated I was to be relegated to a mere side act, "Oh, so I'm just to walk around and look pretty?" Siegrain tried to interject but I cut him off before he could, "I told you that I refuse to play into your kinks, Siegrain."  
"This is your last warning Miss Ghost, do as I tell you or you'll be disposed of." Siegrain's tone hardened significantly in an obvious attempt to intimidate me.  
Unfortunately, I needed to play along for now, but everything inside of me was screaming out to see how far he would take that petty threat, but I settled instead for humming noncommittally, "We'll see Siegrain, let's just hope this stays interesting enough for me."  
A vicious grin covered my face as I continued on, his brain may be a bit scrambled but Siegrain was smart enough to recognize a threat when he heard one.  
One small problem down, two to go. Unfortunately, the redhead was a bit out of my reach for now and I was willing to bet that Siegrain would leave her alone until he could get the biggest shock factor out of her. That left Trinity Raven, which was a large problem in and of itself. The easiest solution would be to kill them, which would slow down, and perhaps even stop the news from spreading, but how could I do it?  
I had my weapons with me, thankfully Siegrain brought them when he kidnapped me, so I wasn't left without my babies (Shit, I can never say that again, it sounded far too much like Bixslow, which is not the image I was going for), but if I straight up attacked anyone, Siegrain would certainly carry out his threat. The only other things I had were the darts I kept in my belt and one or two potions that miraculously survived coming here. The potions were... Well, one of them was a magic draining solution and the other was a shield lacrima that I was keeping just in case, but neither of those things would help with my current situation.  
If only Gavin were here right now, mainly to give him a black eye, but after that, I could... get... God damn it, that bitch!  
One thing I picked up before I left Siegrain on the top of the tower was another one of Gavin's potions that was specially made. If I was right about this, I was still giving that idiot a black eye when I saw him next, but I would also probably have to thank him as well.  
***  
I strode confidently towards one of the 'problem' areas that Siegrain asked me to keep an eye on, a bottle of once putrid yellow liquid that changed to an alarming shade of blue once I added a few drops of my magic draining potion. Now I not only had a direction, I was nearly 50% sure of what I needed to do; which, admittedly wasn't all that much, but I knew better than to doubt my intuition and my faith in Gavin, which was odd to think.  
Once I got to the room where a large amount of chaos was ensuing a large smile grew on my face, The blonde and Juvia (I know, I was surprised that I remembered her name as well, be very impressed) were in the middle of a powerful unison raid that wiped out the guy they were going against, a man with long black hair and rock band makeup all over. He was obviously one of the members of Trinity Raven who had been hiding in the one body, and while the girls looked exhausted, I could see the pride that was shining from them. He had to have been a difficult opponent, but I knew all to well the sense of pride and accomplishment that came from beating someone who pushed your limits.  
"This is where you come in," Siegrain's voice whispered in my ear, "They shouldn't be hard to defeat now, just clean up the mess."  
This is where my smooth talking would have to come in, as there was no way I would attack members of my guild, but I still needed to convince Siegrain that I was on his side, which would be difficult. "How about not," I hummed out quietly, sticking to the shadows while keeping my ears as open as they would go, "I know you've got a lot to pay attention to up there, but taking these two out now would be a really bad idea."  
Indignation rose up through the link that Siegrain established between us, "Either attack them now or I will bring the ceiling down in your area. Unless of course, you have a good reason to leave them alive?"  
Did I have a good reason to not kill the two girls? My mind was whirling at a hundred miles per hour to think up a good excuse, "You mentioned that you wanted me as shock value for Fairy Tail, correct?" I asked, catching a faint sound of crashing that seemed to indicate another battle was drawing to a close. Siegrain briefly mentioned other helpers who were here, people who, apparently, had a close connection to this tower, Siegrain, and the redhead, which brought in more questions than they answered, but perhaps now I could use them to my advantage.  
"That is correct, why do you ask?" I knew by the curiosity that I had caught Siegrain's attention, "I don't see how that would be any relevance to this moment."  
Neither did I, but I never promised not to lie, so here we go, "Because, if I show myself now, there's a good chance that I'll be revealed to the rest of the Fairies; you see, there's a group coming this way, and I guarantee that they're leaning more towards being sympathetic towards Fairy Tail then they are towards you."  
Okay, so it was only a partial lie, I could hear a group approaching, but I had no idea where their allegiance laid. They could be Siegrain's biggest fans for all I knew, but as long as I could sow the seeds of doubt in Siegrain, then I would succeed.  
There was a brief silence as he seemed to contemplate my words, that wasn't one of my best lies, but I had to have some amount of faith in it or it would never work. "I suppose you're right," From the tone of his voice, he seemed to hate himself for admitting that, "For now I'll have you stay back and collect Vidaldus when everyone else leaves, then head over to where Fukuro is... It seems that his battle has begun to go badly as well."  
"Um, sure," I murmured uncertainly, Vidaldus, Fukuro, who in the world were they?! I mean, by process of elimination Vidaldus had to be the rock band wannabe that Blonde and Juvia had taken out, but Fukuro? I was lost...  
The connection ended just as I realized that I missed an opportunity to mock Siegrain! Now I wouldn't be able to tease him for underestimating Fairy Tail so badly, which is something I was genuinely upset about. Oh well, the opportunity would certainly come up again.  
The group came and went, dragging Blonde and Juvia along with them while I sat lost in thought; it was a lie, but the way the blockhead (literally, his head was a cube, this wasn't a comment on his intelligence) was talking, they may have actually turned on Siegrain... Who'd've thought?  
Anyways, they left and I slipped into the room, preparing myself to carry out my own personal self-preservation mission. The darts were tucked into my palm as I took special care to ensure that I wasn't pricked, and the special potion that I had used to prep the first dart was carefully in a pouch on my belt. I picked up the Wannabe carefully, slipping the dart in his underarm as I draped him across my back. My muscles strained, yet if I could pick up that beast of a man back in Fairy Tail while half dead, I could certainly handle this man.  
His body was limp against mine, which made carrying his dead weight much more difficult, but even with that, I made my way out of the room with no issues, stepping carefully over the puddles of water that were left behind from the battle.   
As I looked for a place to dump the Wannabe I felt his body react quickly to the unknown poison I injected him with. His skin heated up quickly and his heart began to race to the point where even if I didn't have enhanced senses I would be able to tell something was wrong. Hot breath fanned against my neck at an ever-increasing pace, to the point where I was concerned that he would throw up on me or something equally revolting.  
Outwardly, it didn't seem as though anything was wrong, the Wannabe's body remained still and it looked as though the only thing happening was me dragging him towards a room where he could recover. However, each step I took made it more apparent that something was terribly wrong with this man. Something hot and wet touched my neck, causing me to flinch heavily, before flinging him to the ground. I could take a lot of gross crap, but bodily fluids touching my neck was where I drew the line.  
As though a sudden shock was exactly what he was waiting for, the instant the Wannabe's body hit the floor it all stopped, the heavy breathing, the fast pulse... His pulse in general... The entire process took less than a minute, but I was familiar enough with death to know when it came knocking. Blood may have stained a bit of my neck from where it leaked out of this man's mouth, but otherwise, there were no outward signs that he had died.  
The first member of Trinity Raven was dead.  
The Ghost of Fiore had returned.  
***  
It took a few minutes of roaming through the halls, refusing to ask for help from Siegrain, before I found the second member who was also lying knocked out on the ground. The half owl was covered in cuts that seemed to all be frostbitten as well as a plethora of burns. It really didn't take too much to guess exactly who had been involved in this fight. Even after only a week or so of hanging around the guild, it was still far to easy to recognize exactly who these magics belonged to.  
The same process that I did with the Wannabe was repeated with the owl, which included a small amount of blood being drooled onto my neck. I honestly thought I could handle blood no matter what the situation was, but that, that proved me wrong... A shudder ran through my body as it touched me, making me want to sanitize the area it touched before setting it on fire to make sure it was clean.  
The owl was disposed of with the same courtesy that the Wannabe had been handled with before I left the room and nodded, unsure of where to go from there. I mean, I could ask Siegrain where he needed me next (everything inside of me also wanted to ask how well hiring second rate assassins had gone over for him, but I would need to restrain myself for a little bit longer), but that would mean telling Siegrain that I was lost, which fell around the same place on my list of things to do that stabbing myself in the eye with a rusty nail fell... Right around halfway.  
Thankfully, the tower wasn't soundproof, so it only took a few minutes of snooping to hear the beautiful sound of swords clashing against each other. As an adept swordswoman, that sound was as familiar to me as my own heartbeat.  
Granted, hearing where the noise was coming from, and finding the noise itself were two completely different challenges, one was easy and the other ended up with me being lost... Probably ten minutes passed before I was able to find where the third member of Trinity Raven was lying in front on a bridge singing something terribly in words that made zero sense.  
"The light of justice will rain,   
Destroying those who lie below,   
The beauty will grow,   
as all life goes."  
Unfortunately for me, she was still awake, which meant that I couldn't just shove the dart into her arm and she might even alert Siegrain to my treachery. It was moments like this when I remembered just how much I hate people.  
"That's an... interesting song," I said hesitantly as I plopped down next to the pink haired woman, shifting the dart in my hand carefully.  
The woman smiled at me happily, "I'm glad you enjoyed it, are you here to kill me?" Well, that was abrupt. I sweatdropped slightly, but she wasn't quite done, "I've known since the moment I saw you that you would be the one to kill us, which is quite an honor if you think about it."  
Wait, did she mean that the opportunity to kill Trinity Raven was quite an honor, or that being killed by me was quite an honor? Perhaps it didn't matter, but the way she was looking at me held so much sincerity that her words made me feel as though I were missing a larger point.  
I would have loved to ask her what the hell she meant, but Siegrain could be listening, which meant I had to be vague, "Why would you think I'm here to kill you?" I asked innocently, meeting her eyes and sending her a small grin, "Siegrain asked me to pull you guys out of the way so you would have time to recover before the final fight."  
The look in her eyes made me sigh slightly, I wasn't fooling her at all, "I think the question is more why wouldn't you kill us, we represent a danger to the way of life you've found. I would do the exact same in your position."  
She really just had to be so understanding, didn't she? If I was being honest, I would tell her that she is someone who I would really prefer not to kill, she seems like a decent enough person, but I couldn't afford to be honest.  
"Well," My voice was quiet as I reached over to grab the woman's arm before moving into a position to stand, pulling her up with me as the dart slipped unnoticed into her arm, "I found something good with Fairy Tail, I would certainly prefer to protect it."   
The woman gasped slightly as the effects of the poison started to affect her, "You know?" I started walking out of the room with her on my back, thankfully she was still coherent for a little bit longer, "I found somewhere that has accepted me wholeheartedly. If I have any regrets from today it will be the fact that you met me before you could find somewhere like that as well."


	21. Another Boss

It only took a moment to dispose of the last body, Gavin had done an excellent job of ensuring that the corpses looked as though they were merely sleeping or passed out after the poison ran its course. Not that this was a good thing...  
A pit had long since formed in my stomach as I carried out my gruesome task, murder was something that I gave up years ago and not once since then had I missed my old job. However, this was not something that I could avoid, so I did it anyways, grimacing as I felt my muscles begin to fall into a rhythm that I would much rather they forget.   
Thankfully, finishing up with Trinity Raven was easy and I was able to move on to my second major objective quickly enough. I wasn't 100% sure where the redhead was, but at this time it only really made sense for her to be close to Siegrain at the top of the tower, which meant there was a considerably smaller possibility for me to get lost.  
At first, it seemed like I was doomed to spend the next thirty or so minutes walking up stairs, but before I even put a foot on the first step, magical pressure began to build around me to the point where just standing became an issue. My muscles locked into place as I braced myself and began to feel a sense of urgency, "Siegrain?" I hissed out, trying to figure out what the hell was happening, but there was nothing. Either he was purposely ignoring me, or he had no idea I was completely in the dark.  
My magical immunity attempted to kick in, but there was simply too much power. I was forced to one knee as the pressure increased once more. What could cause something this extreme? I could feel the light around me begin to lighten as my mind frantically ran through the options, out of all the weapons out there, it was difficult to find one that would be this strong when it came to magical pressure.  
The answer hit me at around the same time as the weapon did, the Etherion Cannon, one of the Magic council's strongest weapons. Siegrain had hinted at controlling the council, so what was his aim here? I doubted that he wanted to destroy his tower when he was so close to finishing his project.  
For some reason, the fear that was supposed to come when death was imminent never came, instead, I buried my face in my knee against the light as it approached blinding. My body strained as the magical energy washed over me, so powerful that my magical immunity was nothing but a flower in a hurricane. A small moan was forced out of me by the pressure as the blast continued, the light was so strong that even with my eyes being pressed into my leg all I could see was white.  
It felt as though I trapped under a waterfall, the pressure was so strong that I couldn't even draw in breath.   
Just as I felt about ready to pass out, the pressure stopped. I could still feel a massive amount of magical energy surrounding me, but it was no longer suffocating. Obviously, I wasn't dead just yet, which I was still trying to decide whether or not that was a good thing.   
"Miss Ghost?" I about jumped out of my skin as Siegrain's voice cut across my thoughts as I had been evaluating my physical condition.  
Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked around in amazement, what was once a normal stairwell had changed completely to a crystalline, blue stone, every detail was perfectly preserved in the substance, which I could feel held an incredible amount of energy. I reached out a finger and ran it delicately along the edge of what had once been nondescript stairs; I could see my reflection in the material and my finger tingled at the power that sparked at the contact.  
It was beautiful.  
"Miss Ghost." The voice came back, this time far more severe as I jumped again, having completely forgotten about Siegrain trying to contact me, "Please tell me you haven't died already, you showed so much more promise than that."  
Irritation flared up in me at how condescending his words were, "I wouldn't go there, Siegrain," I stressed his name as I spoke, "Trinity Raven also showed promise, yet we saw how that turned out."  
There was silence for a moment before he spoke again, obviously biting his tongue slightly, "Just get up here will you, I have no time for your sass." With that, the connection ended and I shook my head slightly, it was just too easy to rile him up... It was starting to get boring.  
Erza's POV  
Jellal glared at the lacrima he held as I remained where I was, a small heap on the floor, "G... Ghost?" I choked out, still feeling his last hit after the etherion Cannon hit.  
He turned to me, smiling with glee as he saw how beaten down I was, "Oh yes, do you perhaps remember an assassin that was around eight years ago? They went by the name, The Ghost of Fiore?" A shock went through my system at that, I hadn't heard that name for years and even now a jolt of fear raced through me. The assassin who moved like a ghost, leaving behind only an eye that would hang in the sky ominously after a kill.  
The Ghost was used as horror stories told to small children to keep them in line, though they were far more terrifying than any nightmare monster because they were real. Bloody bodies appeared in my mind's eye as I recalled the one time I had seen the Ghost's handiwork.  
"I... I thought they were dead." I said quietly, more to myself than to Jellal, "How did you find them?" My eyes sought Jellal's as I stared at him in horror. Not only was Jellal threatening everything I cared about, he also seemed to have found one of the few people who terrified me to an unreasonable level.  
Jellal took in my shaken state and began to chuckle menacingly, "It certainly wasn't easy, but I believe you will be quite excited to see who it is, they seem to be close to you after all."  
My breathing grew uneven as I imagined coming face to face with a childhood nightmare, but I wasn't allowed time to even consider, as a flash of light drew my eyes back up to Jellal, who was now standing next to Siegrain, both of whom were now smiling at me in a disconcerting manner, "Wha... What?"  
Ember's POV  
Do you want to know something else I hate? Fucking stairs.   
I would honestly consider myself to be a rather in shape person, I need to work out religiously in order to stay on top of my game, and I do all sorts of things that do a good job of keeping me in shape, but if you put several hundred stairs in front of me, I will be dying by the time I reach halfway. My breathing was ragged when I finally reached Jellal's base of operations and from what I could hear it seemed that there was more than one person in the room, which included... A second copy of Siegrain? Interesting, I guess I was right about him simply being a copy.  
My breathing was quick to regulate itself, but I still leaned against the wall for a moment before pushing the door open only to see the redhead slumped on the floor, staring up at the 'two' men in horror as they both smiled mockingly at her.  
"How could you?" The redhead's voice quivered slightly as she grasped her midriff in pain, "People depend on you Siegrain, why would you conspire with someone like him when it will cause so much pain?"  
The two idiots laughed in unison as I sighed heavily, first the stairs, now I have to deal with Siegrain's superiority complex, what a wonderful day.  
It seemed like Siegrain was about ready to drop the truth on the redhead that he was in fact, one person working to destroy peace and all sorts of dastardly things from two sides of the field. However, I didn't like him, so I wasn't planning on letting him have the satisfaction.  
"Siegrain," I drawled casually from the sidelines, "Did no one ever tell you that it isn't nice to tease a girl like that?" My tone had achieved max mocking as I spoke and I smirked at how his eye twitched at my words.  
"E-Ember?" The redhead choked out, staring at me in shock with a slight undertone of terror. How dare this asshole do this to a member of Fairy Tail? I was okay with having one more person on my kill count for the day, "What are you doing here?"  
This is where things were going to get hairy, undoubtedly, Siegrain was going to reveal that I was the Ghost of Fiore to increase the shock factor of this whole thing... I couldn't break character just yet, I had come too far to stop now, especially since I didn't know exactly what Siegrain's plans were. I would wait just until then to help unless he forced my hand.  
I laughed callously as a sadistic grin grew on my face, "Nothing much, just watching Siegrain here struggle through poorly laid plans. Just so you know, Siegrain wasn't exactly conspiring with the other one here-"  
Siegrain voice cut me off as my grin widened, he really was one for theatrics, wasn't he, "-As Miss Ember was saying, I'm not conspiring with Jellal, but rather," This was spoken by the clone in white.  
"I'm afraid it's slightly more complicated than that. You see, we're not twins," The actual Siegrain spoke as I walked closer, rolling my eyes as I went  
Both the Siegrain's spoke in unison, "But rather two faces of the same person, and we have been from the start." Slowly the fake Siegrain faded into the other, leaving only the one clad in the dark cloak. The redhead looked about ready to pass out from shock, yet I knew he wasn't done just yet, he still had one bomb to drop on the poor girl.  
By this time, I was standing just off to the side, forcing my face to remain expressionless as I watched the redhead's gaze shift to me, "And you Ember, where do you fit into all this?"  
I grinned at the redhead slightly before glancing at Siegrain, "You know? That's an excellent question, what is my role here Siegrain? Besides being an unnecessary shock factor I mean. You did, after all, go to the trouble of kidnapping me so I would be here."  
Siegrain gestured for me to come closer to him, but simply raised my eyebrow in response, I was not a dog, if he wanted something from me, he would have to spit it out. With a heavy sigh, Siegrain walked over to me and draped one arm lazily over my shoulders, causing my eye to twitch as I glared at him ominously.  
"I suppose it makes sense that you didn't know, I mean, having an entire guild know that you are the most wanted person in Fiore is rather risky... Or, at least you were eight years ago. Isn't that right, Miss Ghost?"  
My gaze found the redhead as she stared at me, any color that she had previously drained from her face in a moment as the fear in her eyes doubled.  
"You didn't answer her question, Siegrain," I snapped, cutting through the tension of the moment, causing the redhead to jump slightly, "What is my role here, or were you so desperate for help that you just needed a long since retired assassin to be on your side?"  
Siegrain smirked at me slightly but ignored the question once more, if this kept up I would attack him just for being an ass. I was about to turn my attention completely back to Siegrain to throttle the answer out of him but was interrupted by the stammering words of the redhead.  
"So, all that time you protected us, you were pretending?" Her eyes were filled with accusations which I faced head-on, it would take her a while to trust me after this, but I wasn't here to gain her trust, "How do the two of you live with yourselves knowing that you both are living a lie?"  
Something big was building, every instinct I had was screaming at me to run, but I couldn't, I wouldn't abandon the redhead here with this deranged psychopath who seemed to want the both of us around for some reason. Because of this, I ignored the redhead and looked at the center of the room where a large piece of lacrima was rising from the ground.  
For a moment I was transfixed by the lacrima, I could feel something about it calling to me, the urge to go touch it was singing in my veins. Besides being highly disconcerting, I could feel the energy the crystal was giving off, it was just as potent as the etherion cannon blast had been earlier, once again making it hard to breathe.  
I was pulled out of my trance by Siegrain punting the redhead halfway across the room, which, once again, made me grit my teeth. This idiot had a lot to pay for, and his treatment of my guild members was right at the top of the list.   
He pulled me in close as soon as the redhead rebounded and prepared to attack, "Protect me or I will kill her here and now, do you understand?"   
I slapped his hand away with a growl, but pulled out my sword and dagger anyways, wishing him death with my eyes, "Why am I here? Just what are you doing with that lacrima?"  
Siegrain chuckled menacingly, "Defeat Erza and I'll tell you, does that give you motivation?"  
No, it doesn't, you idiot! It would be so easy to plunge one of my small knives into his throat while he was smirking at me, but I forced myself to take a step back. I would ask him one more time and then I was done playing with him.  
A blur of red approached me, indicating the redhead had begun her attack; with little effort I brought my swords up and blocked her strike, dodging out of the way just as she sent a second strike my way. Strike by strike I deflected her attacks, getting a feel for her attack patterns, which were sluggish at the moment.   
She must have fought earlier, as I knew for a fact that she could not have taken the Phantom Lord idiot down if she had fought him like this.  
I ducked a swing before getting in close and shoving my elbow in her gut, which caused her to back up a step while hacking heavily. My defense remained up, but I didn't follow her like I normally would, instead of allowing her time to recover as I watched passively.  
"The Master trusts you, how dare you betray him like this when he has shown you nothing but support." The redhead was glaring at me with a fire in her eyes that I had seldom seen before, she really was impressive... If only I could spar with her under better circumstances. "I will bring you to justice for all lives you have taken!"   
Her voice was strong despite the tiredness that showed in her movements and as she lunged I could see some renewed vigor in her swings. Unfortunately, it still wasn't enough.  
I countered her next two strikes with ease before making my move. My sword whistled through the air before the flat side of the blade made contact with her fingers, crushing them briefly before I moved behind her faster than the eye could move.  
My dagger stopped gently against her throat as my other hand wrapped around her arms, pulling them together behind her back. Her swords clattered to the floor as the pain of my blow filled her, making her drop to her knees in agony. I moved with her, not wanting the dagger to do any actual damage.  
Carefully, I leaned in close to the redhead's... to Erza's ear and murmured as quietly as I could, "I hope we can spar again when we get back to the guild, I sense that you would be a formidable opponent."  
Erza jerked slightly in shock as I readjusted my hold slightly so I could look at Siegrain without straining my neck, "There, I defeated her, now tell me what your plan is."  
As Siegrain and I stared each other down, I faintly heard a pair of wings drawing near, but I ignored that in favor of finally getting answers.  
"You truly are impressive Miss Ghost, I see why you never failed a contract." His eyes continued to laugh at me.  
An animalistic growl tore its way from my throat as I forced my hands to remain relaxed, "Stop avoiding the question, Siegrain, tell me what you wanted with me or you will be my next target."  
Once again, his laugh filled the room, which he probably meant as an intimidation tactic... But, we've seen just how well crap like that works on me, "You're incredibly smart, Miss Ghost, you figured out my identity within only a few moments of meeting me outside or Era, this puzzle is nothing compared to that, so I find it hard to believe that you haven't put it together yet."  
"Do you really think I would be wasting my time asking you crap if I knew what the hell was going on?" My tone emphasized just how impatient I was, even Erza flinched at the blade that began digging into her neck at this, "I've seen a lot of bad shit, Siegrain, enslavement, torture, and even human experimentation. This situation fits none of those categories, so I don't think it's too far fetched that I'm a bit lost here."  
I could feel Erza starting to shift under my blades, so I tightened my hold and shot her a warning glance. Just like the situation with Phantom Lord, if she attempted to intervene, I could not guarantee her safety. Unfortunately, it seemed as though me being revealed as the Ghost of Fiore affected her more than I imagined at first, as she glared up at me with hateful eyes.  
"Very well," Siegrain sighed slightly, his disappointment palpable as he shook his head, "I suppose it would hurt little to let you in on my plans, you see, I wish to resurrect Zeref, and Erza is going to help me achieve this."  
This sent him into a villainous monologue, but I couldn't bring myself to care about that as I was lost in my own thoughts. Resurrection? What a terrible idea...  
My fingers began drumming nervously against Erza's wrists, if Siegrain really wanted to bring back one of the most powerful evil wizards of known history, then it made sense that he needed a sacrifice to bring him back, but that wasn't all he would need... Suddenly Siegrain being on the Magic Council made a bit more sense, as the amount of contained energy such a spell would take would be nearly unthinkable, as you would have to have a structure that could contain the magic needed as well as a source that would charge the structure. The etherion cannon.  
I released Erza gently, sending her a warning glare before whispering gently into her ear, "Don't move, please." She looked at me sharply, but I could only hope that she would do as I asked as I stood from my stooped position and walked around her. My sword and dagger hung limply from my hands as I stood between her and Siegrain, more than ready to take down this bastard.  
"Clever," I said mockingly, "You planned this whole thing so well, I would be impressed if you hadn't made several major mistakes."  
Siegrain's eyebrow raised as he stared at me mockingly, "Mistakes, I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about. I planned everything to the smallest detail, every possibility was accounted for, please enlighten me on just what it was that I missed, Miss Ghost."  
Finally, this facade could end, my malice poured from me in waves with enough intensity to rival the lacrima in the middle of the room as my bloody eyes began to gleam with blood lust, "It's interesting, when you invite Fairy Tail to the party, you are basically asking for carefully laid plans to go awry."  
The fluttering of wings that had been drawing closer for the last minute or so finally arrived as the pink haired idiot appeared over the ledge.  
I tightened my grip on my weapons slightly in preparation as my grin finally turned feral, "Do you really think I would retire from assassinations 'just because,' Mr. Siegrain?" My stance lowered as the idiot ran towards us, a determined look on his face as he aimed to grab Erza.  
"You really chose the wrong guild to mess with."


	22. Broken Promises

"You really chose the wrong guild to mess with."   
The pink haired idiot was quick in grabbing Erza before jumping away, "Hey! You're the girl who tried to tell me how to punch, aren't you?" Well, I'm glad he retained some form of cognitive ability despite the obvious brain damage.  
My response was a swift nod before I brought my full attention back to Siegrain, who seemed to expect my betrayal, "Are you sure you want to do this Ghost? I will resurrect Zeref, no matter who I have to trample in order to do so."  
My eyebrow cocked as I tilted my head and watched him, a sense of perverse satisfaction filling me at the thought of defeating him, "You can resurrect whoever the hell you want, our world has dealt with big bad people for centuries, I doubt having one more around will really affect us all that much."  
I could feel the eyes of everyone in the room on me as I spoke, as well as a cloud of rage coming from the Fairies behind me, "No," I took a step closer to Siegrain we began to circle each other, "The only reason I care about this situation is because you brought my guild members into the fray; you don't get to hurt my guild, Jose tried before you and got the same result. Why in the world would I allow someone like you to do what he failed at?"  
My senses were narrowed in on Siegrain as he laughed in amusement, "Brave words, though not unexpected from you. I read all the reports on your encounter with Jose, what makes you think that you could possibly stand against me when you struggled so badly with him?"  
The fight was only moments away, I could feel it in my bones, it really was unfortunate that all this banter was a necessary precursor before we could fight, "Well, you don't have two idiots running interference for one, and I'm not about to underestimate you as I did them." The moment before I jumped to attack I called one last thing over my shoulder, "Oi, Idiot, or flame brain, or whatever it is you go by; when you jump in, please watch your attacks, I really don't want to have to defend myself from both sides."  
I heard an irritated yell coming from behind me as I lunged for Siegrain, but his exact words were lost as my blades clashed with his magic.  
Energy thrummed between us as we stared each other down, testing our opponent's strength as we completely ignored the two mages behind us. Siegrain was incredibly strong, to the point where if I were any weaker I would be on the floor; but I was pleased to say that I was able to hold my own as the muscle-flexing portion of the fight ended.  
We both jumped back, only to be interrupted by the idiot knocking Erza out with a solid punch to the midriff... I honestly wasn't sure where to go with that... Siegrain and I exchanged glances, silently asking if either of us knew what this was about.  
I mean, I'm sure he had his reason, but still... That was savage.  
"What kind of sick satisfaction do you get from striking a defenseless friend?" Siegrain's voice held just the right amount of irritation to intrigue me... Was there still something remaining of Jellal in his head? That didn't sound like someone being manipulated by Manipubitch to me.  
The idiot stood holding Erza's body gently, his eyes overshadowed by hair as he spoke quietly, "I had to do it because she was crying... She looked so weak and fragile, her voice was trembling with fear; I don't want to see Erza like that, I've always looked up to her as a strong warrior. And, when she wakes up from this nightmare, I want her to feel like herself again." (I took this line straight from the anime so you know... It's so flipping sweet that I couldn't bring myself to change this part. Don't worry, the fighting will continue soon.)  
My feral smile dropped at that, changing to a soft expression as I watched him place his comrade aside gently. He was still an idiot, but his heart was in the right place; it was obvious he valued his family's happiness above really anything else.  
Now that I had been given an explanation I was able to lunge for Siegrain again without regret. I moved quicker than the eye could follow as I aimed a sword straight for his heart, now was not the time to be holding back. His defense clashed with mine but I was prepared for that. My sword moved out, pushing away his defense slightly as I spun in closer to him and threw my elbow into his gut as hard as I could.  
He stumbled back a step, anger blazing in his eyes, but I wasn't done with him, following after him I sent a flurry of attack that targeted non-vital areas, such as his legs and arms. His defense was slightly weaker there and I was able to land several hits before he was able to counter my moves.  
Damnit, he was playing with me, I could feel how severely he was limiting his movements if he tried, he would be able to keep up with me effortlessly.   
I was about ready to jamb my dagger into his arm to demand that he take this seriously when a fireball was sent careening towards us that I had to jump to avoid. "I told you to aim!" I spat, trying my hardest to not throw a dagger at the idiot behind me.  
The idiot, who rushed past me to strike Siegrain in the stomach, continued sending fire to his target as he yelled back at me over his shoulder, "You avoided it, didn't you? Stop complaining and fight!"  
It took a deep breath and far too much self-control to stop myself from being petty and sending a dagger their way if only to be able to say 'you avoided it, didn't you?' right back at him. Instead, I jumped back towards the fight, ignoring the flames that kissed my skin as I jumped and kicked Siegrain right in the head, "This is why I hate fighting with partners!"  
This pattern of avoiding the idiot's attacks and sending my own quick ones at Siegrain lasted for a few more seconds, but I knew it couldn't continue... Partially because I would end up killing the idiot if it did. Other than that, I could feel pressure building around Siegrain, perhaps he was going to start taking this seriously.  
I had only heard rumors, but apparently, Siegrain's main combat magic was called Heavenly Body magic, along with a whole buttload of other magics piled on top of that. It was really no wonder that he was a Wizard Saint.  
My sword stopped a hair's breadth from the idiots face when Jellal ducked under my attack, "Oi! Are you trying to kill me?" The idiot was cross-eyed as he stared at my sword, flames sputtering in his hands as fear covered his face.  
Oh, how I wished that that's what was going on here; instead of answering, I pulled my sword away and slammed into the idiot as hard as I could, knocking him out of the way of a spell that Siegrain fired at us. This left me to bear the brunt of the blast, but it was a low powered attack that my magical immunity was able to shrug off for the most part.  
As the spell hit the tower, I gasped at the amount that began to leak from the tower almost immediately. Wait... This was a crystalline tower that was holding the energy of an etherion blast. Key word here, crystalline.  
My body worked on autopilot as I jumped back from a spell that was sent at me, not bothering to evade more than that, allowing the energy to wash over me in painful waves. If the tower leaked power when it was broken, then what would happen if someone were to go Kamikaze on the tower? Would it lose the ability to resurrect anyone as the energy dissipated quietly, or would it lose the ability to resurrect anyone as the energy all tried to exit at once like a huge bomb?  
A harsh shove pulled me back into the moment, the idiot had pushed me out of the way to stop me from being hit, but all that did was make it so that we were both hit by Siegrain's attack. The idiot growled something at me about staying focused before leaping forward again to clash with our opponent. If my assumption was right, then destroying the tower would stop Siegrain from harming my family, but destroying the tower could also kill my family, so there were some major tradeoffs.  
Unfortunately, it seemed like this was now an all magic fight that I was less than useful in, so I jumped back a few steps to approach Erza, "Hey," I said, kneeling in front of her, ignoring how she tried to back away from me as I got close, "Would you be able to get both yourself and the idiot away from here if I gave you an opening?"  
She was obviously not expecting my words as her mouth dropped open, her shock palpable, "W-what? You want us to leave you to fight Jellal alone?" Her eyes hardened, "Just what would you get out of this, Ghost?"  
I fought the urge to roll my eyes, checking on the idiot briefly as I watched him getting beat up by Siegrain, "I get the knowledge that you are safe when this tower goes down." She looked so full of questions, but there was little time, I had to protect the idiot before he was blown to pieces because of Siegrain's magic, "I doubt he will want to leave willingly, so I'll wait for an opportunity and knock him out, when I do, I need you to take over and get out of here or we all will die."  
"I... I... What?" Perhaps she thought that I was unable to have feelings, as I was the heartless Ghost, but right now I needed to help, I could feel magic building up steadily, I needed to get back in there.  
"You remember what happened last time you ignored me, correct?" She looked away, ashamed, "Then listen to me now, just this once. Even if you don't trust me, trust yourself to save flame brain over there."  
Before she had the chance to respond, I was already up and running towards the idiot, reaching him just in time to ram into him at full speed. We both went flying at least ten feet as Siegrain's energy encompassed us. My body took the brunt of the explosion, but I wasn't about to leave it at that, as the energy still surrounded us, I got as close to the idiot as I could and gave the instructions for our plan of attack.  
"We need to damage the tower as much as possible, if I take on Siegrain, will you focus on that?" I sucked with names, that much was true, but even I had heard tales of just how destructive the dragon slayer in my arms could be, this was one of the few tasks that I trusted him implicitly with.  
As the blast faded a familiar, cocky voice reached us, "You survived that? Impressive, I had rather hoped this would be where you died in a blaze of glory Miss Ghost. It would be so poetic. Unfortunately, I would prefer not to damage my tower any further, so I must dispense with the pleasantries."   
At that, I jumped to my feet, ignoring the aching that was growing stronger with every hit, and ran towards Siegrain, it was time to place a small amount of trust in my comrades.   
Hits were exchanged at a pace that could not be seen with the naked eye, both of us were moving so quickly that our actions blurred, but neither of us were willing to back down. I could hear the whiney voice of the dragon slayer in the background, but for the time being I was getting sick of this.   
I ducked under Siegrain's latest attack and sped in close, slashing him across his chest as I growled out, "Enough games, Siegrain. You won't defeat me with half your power like this, now fight me or give up!"  
A surge of power sent me flying away from Siegrain, causing me to hit the ground harshly and roll several meters before coming to a stop, "You want me to fight you for real? His voice was harsh, apparently I had made him mad, "I believe that I could defeat you as I am now, with you refusing to use your powers you are far weaker than you could be. Though I suppose I can't afford to let my tower come to any more harm."  
I looked to where the dragon slayer was, only to smirk viciously as I saw the singe marks covering the walls. The idiot had been busy and the fruits of his labors were apparent in the deep gouges that had been taken out of the walls.  
"You fairy are truly remarkable pests, but I believe I am done playing with you, it's time for you to see the true power dark magic holds." My breath caught in my throat as Siegrain took a step towards us and held up his hand allowing a dark ball to form above him. The energy coming from it was perverse, it left a bitter taste in my mouth as I scooted away from it instinctively.  
Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time I had seen a spell like this, one of my mentors was quite adept in dark magic and used it frequently in my training to act as an 'incentive' for me to preform to the best of my abilities... It wasn't exactly the same spell that Siegrain was using now, but it certainly was similar.  
My shadow began arcing towards the ball as I stood, willing my magic immunity to withstand a bit more, it had apparently overcome the Spirit King, so this should be child's play. Quickly I walked to Erza and the idiot, both of whom were staring at Siegrain in fear, This would be a good time for them to leave. A small blue cat was watching in fear while gripping onto the idiot's leg for protection. That must have been where the sound of wings came from earlier, which was perfect, as those two now had a way to get out.  
"Stop this Jellal!" Erza yelled, standing in front of the idiot protectively, "If you kill him, then you'll kill me and you won't be able to go through with your precious ceremony!" As I watched the two from the sidelines, waiting for the perfect time to jump in, I couldn't help but notice a spark of something different in Siegrain's eyes, it was like a part of him was fighting against the control, but that disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving manipubitch in control again.  
Siegrain scoffed, looking at our bedraggled group in amusement, "It's true that in order to resurrect Zeref the ceremony requires someone comparable in power to him, however don't be fooled into thinking that you are the only one to fulfill this requirement. There is another person who could do that in this room alone, I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to find someone else."  
The spell was still growing, making it difficult to move at all, I knew my magical immunity was holding up for now, and if I were hit by the spell something inside me told me I wouldn't die, but that didn't mean my guildmates could do anything similar. I forced myself to jump in, slamming my elbow into the idiot's skull, sending him crashing to the ground as Siegrain released the spell, sending it flying towards us at a disappointingly slow pace.  
I darted to Erza, ready to kick her out of the path of the spell when a shadow jumped in front of us at the last second, taking the hit. Blood trickled from the man's mouth the moment he was hit which confirmed what I already knew; the hit was fatal.  
Erza screamed something unintelligible as she ran to the man who collapsed slowly. The idiot was still sprawled out on the ground from my attack, and now Erza was too caught up in losing someone that had been important to her to care about getting the hell out of here like she needed to. I sighed slightly as I stepped in front of them, I knew Erza needed time to say goodbye in this person's last moments, and I intended to ensure that she got just a few more seconds.  
Siegrain watched the scene with a disgusted sneer plastered on his face, "I had no idea that you were still crawling around the tower, you despicable pest." His hand began to glow as he prepared another spell, but now that the dark magic was gone I could once again move at full speed.  
Before the spell even had time to form completely, I had thrown my dagger at his hand, which caused him to curse as the dagger pierced his flesh. "Shut up for a moment, would you?" I turned back to Erza, who was sobbing over her friend, who was now lifeless, "You need to go now, before the idiot wakes back up."  
Teary eyes met mine as she looked up in horror, "How could you be so heartless, I can't leave Simon, he gave his life for me... I need... I need to-"  
"He's dead, no amount of mourning will bring him back," I cut her off coldly as the tears ran over and streamed down her face, "He died so you could live, if you stay you'll be dishonoring what he sacrificed himself for."  
Siegrain was, thankfully, still trying to get the dagger out of his hand with a grimace on his face. Thankfully that meant that we still had a few moments for them to make their escape.  
"Cat," I called out, making the blue cat look up at me with fear, he was standing by the idiots side with tears running down his cheeks, "You need to get these two away from here. This tower will likely blow up soon, and none of you should be around to see it. Can you do that?"  
The cat shuttered at how I was looking at him, but I wasn't about to cater to him when so much was at stake, "I... I suppose. What about you? How will you get away?" The cat's voice was high pitched and childish, yet not quite as annoying as Squeaky's was, as for what he was saying...  
I turned back to Erza and picked her up by her upper arm and threw her towards the cat, "Don't worry about that, just go, and Erza?" I watched her severely as she looked at me with pain radiating from her eyes, "Try to fight this and I will personally throw you out of the tower head first."  
There was no more time to talk, I turned around just in time to bring my longsword up and block Siegrain, who was coming at us with vengeance in his eyes and his bloody hand trailing behind him, "I won't let you leave here alive!"   
Having only one sword cramped my fighting style and Siegrain left me with no time to grab one of my hidden knives to help me fight. He was determined to get past me, but I wasn't going to let him. Again and again we clashed, moving so quickly that even I began to grow dizzy. This was a completely different fight than Jose's, Siegrain was on a different level, not to mention I had finally pushed him past his cocky limitations.  
Every time we clashed a shower of magic and sparks burst from us as we were both enveloped in Siegrain's magic. My I was hit more than once, but I knew that we were approaching the end of our fight.   
I twisted out of the way as a bolt of magic passed me, tearing a small nick in my red undershirt and bruising my skin on contact. This had already happened several times and I was quickly losing my breath. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one to get hit, Siegrain was looking significantly worse for wear as my sword had passed his defenses as well as a stray elbow or two.  
Unbelievably, or fighting began to speed up as he continued to try and get to his targets, darting around the tower as I pushed myself to my absolute limits. I didn't even know if my guildmates were still here, but I did know that if I lost this fight it would spell the end for all of us.  
No, I couldn't afford to lose this, there was no backup coming like there had been last time, I was alone and the last line of defense.  
I couldn't afford to lose.  
I would not lose.  
It seemed that there was only one option left.  
Strike by strike I felt Siegrain gaining the upper hand, he was right, holding back right now would only lead to my failure.  
Fear filled me as I took a strike right to the arm, cursing slightly as his magic tore my flesh apart. If it were just me, I could afford to let it end like this, I wouldn't mind dying to a worthy foe like him, but if I died, he would go straight for Fairy Tail and harm them. I needed to break my promise that I had made to myself over a decade ago, if only for a few moments.  
As another strike hit me in the shoulder, I ignored the pain and lunged forward, grabbing his injured hand and pulling it to my mouth. My teeth tore at the injured skill, making blood flow into my mouth in a steady stream; the urge to gag was strong, but I fought it, swallowing the metallic liquid with some difficulty.  
I had so little magic left in me because of my constant consumption of magic draining potions, but the little I did have was enough to end the fight. Siegrain froze as I manipulated the blood in his body, allowing it to pass through his heart still, but stopping it as it attempted to help the muscles to move. For a few moments, he was completely under my control, and I took advantage of that; I could feel a foreign entity in his mind, twisting deeply like a noxious weed, filling every available portion of his mind.   
Just feeling that made me sick, so I dug into my natural reserves, completely draining myself as I cast the entity out, not entirely understanding what I was doing.   
I had made a promise not to use this again for a reason... Yet this was all it took for me to break that. Amber's face appeared in my mind as I used my blood magic for the last time, forcing Siegrain, or rather, Jellal into unconsciousness, not wanting to see the horror in his eyes as he realized what I was forcing him to do.  
My eyes cast around the barren room, apparently me taking control of Jellal had made his magic go haywire for a few moments and an explosion had swept through the room, tearing up a majority of the surface area.  
Despite the bile the was rising up in my throat at the old, yet somehow familiar taste of blood, I could still sense the energy. This place was unstable, it seemed that the tower had taken far too much damage to be able to retain it's form for much longer, I could feel the energy that was leaking out to a dangerous degree.  
Normally, I would be okay with this, I had won, my guildmates should be safe now that the maniac was dealt with... But I knew that the danger was still prevalent.  
It had only been a few minutes since I told Erza to leave, there was no way they were at a safe distance from what could be the blast zone just yet. There had to be something I could do, but unfortunately, I was not an expert in defusing etherion bombs.  
My eyes wandered the room for some idea on how to overcome this new obstacle, and immediately I was drawn to the large lacrima that was once again rising from the floor.   
This was just a guess, but perhaps that was the core of magic, it did seem to be where the energy was most focused. If I were to join with the lacrima, perhaps I could help it to defuse the energy more efficiently, or even absorb a sufficient amount to lessen the explosion to a safe degree.  
This was a stupid idea... I had no idea if it would actually work... Why would I allow myself to die like this?! If Laxus were here he would be smacking me upside the head for even considering this, but here I was, all alone and allowing my self-destructive nature to take control!"  
Slowly I stood and took painful steps towards the large lacrima.  
This was a terrible idea, I had no evidence to back this up, I was only guessing, so why were my legs still moving towards the overpowered bomb?!  
Despite my internal struggle, I eventually found myself in front of the core as the ground began to ripple under me. I didn't have long before the whole tower blew up, so I had to act.  
I may not have evidence, but I did have my gut instinct, and that was telling me that this would work. My hand raised slowly as I placed it against the smooth surface. Perhaps it was the fact that this thing had been calling to me the entire time, but I felt incredibly calm as my hand was sucked into the lacrima.  
A shout came from behind me, but I wasn't paying attention to that, I was watching as my arm disappeared quickly into the tower as faces of people I loved flashed before my eyes; the Old Man, The Thunder God Tribe, and Laxus. They taught me what it meant to be a Fairy... I think they would be proud of me.  
Speaking of which, I defeated a Wizard Saint, didn't I? I smiled gently as the lacrima was about to engulf me entirely, he would be so jealous.  
"Eat your heart out Spark Plug."


	23. Accepting the Past

My eyes fluttered open as a feeling of peace filled me. The trees swayed gently with the wind and the sound of a brook babbled next to me, this was a scene that had once been as familiar to me as my own heartbeat was.  
Sure enough, only a few seconds after I woke up, sounds of children's laughter began to reach me. My head dipped as I began to curse quietly, the last thing I remembered was being sucked into the lacrima in an attempt to stop, or at the very least slow the eitherion bomb. That meant, if I thought about this logically, that I was either dead or trapped inside the stupid thing as my brain was forced in on itself.  
Now don't get me wrong, I was aware that the type of life I had lived was not one that would allow me into any particularly good afterlife, but this? This was just mean.  
I watched passively from my spot on the forest floor as two little girls ran in from a well-hidden path that I remember I had been so proud to find. This was my twin sister's and my hidden grove where we always came to play and practice with our magic without permission. And yes, that meant that the two little girls who were giggling in front of me were my twin and me, probably around 7 or 8 at the time.  
As always, I was easy enough to pick out of a crowd, my vibrant red eyes gleaming as my black and red hair shone in the sunlight, looking like a rats nest because I hated when my mom brushed it. There were cuts and nicks all the way up my legs from exploring the woods and a rash running up the side of my neck. I chuckled quietly when I saw that, I remembered that mark vividly as it was a hard-learned lesson on my part. At one point before this, I had refused to listen to my mother's lessons on the plants in the woods, which ended with me falling face first into a whole grove of poison ivy... I tried and failed to hide from my mother and Amber, who teased me mercilessly about it.  
My gaze shifted to the person I hadn't seen in so long that I barely recognized... Tears welled in my eyes without my permission as I watched her shove the young me with gusto, giggling about some prank we had likely just pulled off successfully. Despite how similar our names were, we were polar opposites, she was several inches shorter than I was, with mousy brown/blond hair and blue eyes. We shared the sharp eye shape that we had inherited from our mother, but where my skin was pale, which even as a kid caused me to look ethereal, Amber had a darker skin that she shared with our father.  
Her hair was pulled back into the braid that she loved because it kept her unruly hair from getting tangled; she hated that my hair was so straight and easy to manage yet I cared so little about it. I forced myself to take a deep breath before I could sob. She was always so patient with me, even when she was obviously frustrated by how little I actually cared to listen, and when I came up with my off the wall ideas, she was the first one to tell me that we should try it out, even if it could be bad.  
I knew exactly what memory I was seeing, everything from the rash on the younger me's neck to the small cut in Amber's blood red vest (One that she only wore because she said it matched my eyes) told me exactly when this was. Already I wanted to leave, but I knew that I couldn't.  
We were so young, so willing to explore the world, that what was coming next just broke my heart.  
The little me pulled out a vial, that I knew contained a small amount of my blood, "Hey Am, watch this!" Amber was the one who really loved to learn our family's magic, but I was the experimenter, getting bored during lessons only to come up with ideas that could only be done away from my family.  
Little me pulled the stopper on the vial, ready to wow her with some stupid thing I had learned, but Amber grabbed the vial from me, holding it away in a defensive manner, "No!" I watched as I recoiled slightly, staring at Amber with hurt and confusion growing in my eyes. Amber was the only one who got excited when I experimented, so I knew that little me felt so betrayed right now.  
Amber's eyes softened as she watched me, still holding the vial of my blood behind her back, "Listen, Em..." She stopped for a minute, and sat on the ground, patting a patch of grass next to her invitingly, "Sorry for snapping, I just think that you probably shouldn't experiment anymore."  
The little Ember took a small step back, refusing to sit down as she watched her sister, pain filling her eyes, "Sis?" Ember's voice was small, making me want to lunge across the small clearing to pull her into a hug.  
"I don't mean that I don't like to see you experiment, because I do, but..." Amber's hands moved almost unthinkingly as she unstopped the vial and allowed her magic to flare up, the blood reacting to her nonverbal command to come out of the vial and swirl in her hand, staying just above the skin of her palm. "Mommy told me that experimenting with our magic right now is a really bad idea, she said something like, 'you have enough magic to get into trouble, but not enough magic to fix it.' I'm not really sure what she meant by that, but it sounded like it could be bad."  
Slowly she looked up at Ember, her eyes scrunched slightly as she was still pretty deep in thought, "You do some cool stuff when you experiment, but I don't want you to get in trouble, I just want you to be safe Berry."  
Berry, now that was a nickname I hadn't heard in a long time... Amber called me that when I was sad, it stemmed from when I was being teased by the village kids because of my eyes. They were calling me a demon, saying that I was probably going to kill them all, since my family was all a bunch of wacked up weirdos anyways. Amber defended me, and when they were all gone she looked at my eyes for a few minutes before smiling widely and saying, "Don't listen to them, Em, they don't know what they're talking about! I think your eyes look like ripe strawberries, and those are really yummy, so I think your eyes look pretty!"  
Finally, Ember nodded and sat beside Amber, reaching over to take control of the blood, sending it spiraling between the two as they took turns pulling the blood to form a loop. Silence fell between them as they played, making the blood form different shapes, increasing the complexity of the shape until they lost control of the substance, sending it splattering onto the ground as they giggled.  
"Am?" Ember said hesitantly and I groaned, no little me, don't do this, "I promise I'll try to stop experimenting, but could I please show you this, really quick? I promise I've practiced it before so it's safe!" She pushed Amber gently with her shoulder, sending her sister the biggest puppy dog eyes she could make.  
Amber looked at Ember for a few seconds before she sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, like they had seen their father do a thousand times, trying to keep the smile off her face, "Fine, but if you get in trouble I won't help you get out of it at all!"  
Ember nodded eagerly before she reached into her pocket for a small pocket knife she carried around all the time.  
I leaned away from the scene slightly, my heart beating swiftly as I watched this, the emotions I had been feeling all those years ago racing back to me as a small line was drawn on Ember's finger. I didn't want to watch this, please don't make me live through this again!  
Blood streamed upwards from the cut, gathering in a small ball about an inch above Ember's finger, "You remember how mom told us about how blood is structured?" She looked at Amber eagerly, who was nodding quickly, her sky blue eyes shining with fascination, "Well I wanted to know what would happen if I changed the blood structure, not a lot, because that would only end up with me turning the blood into gas or a solid, but if I only hardened a few parts of the blood!"   
Ember squinted at the blood as I could feel the magic moving, it was so subtle that I barely noticed it, but after only a second the blood changed. It happened faster than the blink of an eye, one second the blood was only a small ball, the next it had sprouted half inch long spikes as it froze slightly. The ball fell from her control to the ground as Amber looked on with glee, her face was so excited that she didn't notice Ember staring at the ball in horror.  
Amber didn't know what was happening, but I did, at the same time the ball spiked up, the little me felt her powers flair it was scary, especially since she could feel her sister's heartbeat calling to her more with every second. Something inside of her snapped as her blood sense continued to grow.  
I didn't understand what was happening then, but eventually, several years later, I came to a conclusion. Blood magic is one that needs to be carefully regulated, it takes more control than I had as a seven-year-old to stop, especially when you are going off the beaten path and experimenting. At that moment, I pushed my magic to far and it took control.  
There was a moment of peace before Amber looked back up at me with a short-lived smile on her face. I watched with sadness as my red eyes slowly turned black and a maniacal grin grew on my face.   
"Em?" Amber's voice was quiet and full of fear as I watched her, listening to her heartbeat, "Don't look at me like that, it's creepy! What's going on?"  
Little me didn't answer as she reached out a hand calmly watching as Amber froze, every drop of blood in her body was under little me's control. I knew that feeling, so as I watched pain bloom in Amber's eyes I couldn't look away, I didn't deserve to look away.  
Gurgling breaths left Amber before it was over, Ember raised her hand just a little higher and the blood that flowed through my sister's veins evaporated in an instant, flying to little me, who simply absorbed it and the energy that was in it.  
The being that was in me, I knew better than to say it was me calling the shots, turned and walked away, leaving behind Amber, who watched me go with a fading light in her eyes, unable to call out or even close her eyes.  
It made it's way to my old house, following the scent of blood that was close by. Our hideout was near the town, so that's where it went, killing everybody they sensed and absorbing their life energy as it had done to Amber, growing stronger with every kill.  
There was no running and screaming, no one begging for mercy, this was a quiet massacre; people only realized something was wrong when it was too late.  
At some point, my parents must have sensed that something was wrong as before long, I watched as the thing that was inside my body faced off against them. We were in the middle of the street watching each other carefully, my parents unsure of how to handle this, "Ember," My mother yelled hesitantly, "I know you're in there, just come back to us, please! We know you can do this!"  
Unfortunately, the thing had no desire to talk, it had devoured enough to grow strong, stronger than my parents. A simple hand gesture was all it took for it to take control over their bodies, and then the battle that hadn't even started was over, and the creature was left to finish killing everyone in the village.  
The last to die was my older brother and younger sister, both of whom were huddling at home, hoping that their parents would come back with their sisters, hoping beyond hope that they everything would go back to normal. They died watching me prove to them that nothing would ever be the same again  
***  
A strange pressure on my stomach pulled me out of my memory, forcing me to cough as a liquid ran like fire from my lungs, leaving a mark as a dull pain filled my body. If this was the afterlife then I didn't to be here, this sucked.  
Slowly, my eyes opened to see stars above me, which was odd in and of itself because I thought my eyes were already open. Around me huddled not only the redhead but also the blonde, Juvia, and Icyman, all of whom were looking at me with concern.  
I could see their lips moving, but my head was filled with a loud buzzing, overriding what they may have been saying. One thing was apparent I was not dead... Now the question was if I was supposed to be excited or sad about this turn of events.  
The buzzing began to subside and small bits of what they were saying began to get through to me, "Don't know! Ask... Ember! Can... Died!" Yeah, I still had no idea what was going on.  
I raised my hand, trying to get them to shut up for a moment and winced, my whole body felt like it had just been thrown off the top of that stupid tower.  
"What... Happened?" I asked, dismayed at how utterly weak my voice sounded. Slowly I reached up, grabbing on to one of their arms to pull myself up. As soon as they realized what I was attempting to do, the redhead... Erza and Lucy hurried to help me up.  
By the way my bones were aching, I just knew that I was in for a sucky few weeks until I was healed, but that was a problem for another time. I looked around, silently demanding an answer to my question.  
Erza sighed slightly as she looked over her shoulder and shook her head, "Natsu here... you into the tower... somehow able to find you amidst all that energy." I blinked slowly at that, my hearing was still fading in and out, probably because of the liquid I coughed up earlier. My body had been pushed to its limit and almost drowning was just the icing on the cake.  
If I was able to connect the pieces correctly, which was a big if, that meant that the idiot went into the lacrima after me and pulled me out somehow. I looked at the boy only to shake my head, he was lying on the beach, looking like a pink-haired beached whale as he groaned into the sand.  
I shifted around until I was on my hands and knees, ignoring the others trying to stop, and crawled over to the pink haired idiot. "Hey," I rasped, trying to keep my tone casual as I rapped him on the head, "What the hell were you thinking coming back for me? You could have been killed!"   
There was a bitter undertone to my voice, I willingly sacrificed my life for my comrades, yet he undid all that in one action that could have cost both him and Erza their lives. A foreign feeling filled me as I stared daggers at his stupid hair. Well, I suppose it wasn't so much a foreign feeling as it was an incredibly rare feeling. Protectiveness, or as Bixslow would say, motherly instinct.  
The beached pinkette flipped over with a groan as he turned to look at me, "I couldn't leave you behind, I don't know you very well, but you're still Nakama. I will always be willing to risk my life for you."  
A slight blush covered my cheeks as he said that, underneath it all, he reminded me a lot of the spark plug, he always knew how to surprise me too. A genuine smile tugged at my lips as I reached out and gently patted his head, "You're not half bad kid."  
I could almost feel the smiles of the people surrounding us, but the silence was broken as Icyman tapped my shoulder, looking for all the world like he was an excited child, "Did you really take down Jellal all on your own? How did you do that?"  
The pinkette jumped up, completely forgetting his latest batch of motion sickness, "You really think that she could take him down on your own? There is no way she would have beat that idiot if it weren't for me!"  
They continued yelling at each other, heads rammed together as they prepared to battle, they really were amusing to watch.   
From the corner of my eye, I saw Erza looking at me seriously and I sighed. The fear that filled her at my name back in the tower was a great indication that we needed to talk, "Erza," I called out, quietly enough that the two idiots didn't notice, but Lucy and Juvia both did. All three of them were looking at me curiously as I gestured to further down the beach with my head. "Walk with me. You two can tag along as well if you feel so inclined."  
Not waiting for a response, I pulled myself to my feet with some difficulty before I began to limp down the beach. The adrenaline was wearing off and the pain was setting in, along with a feeling that I was not excited to feel.  
Three pairs of feet followed me hesitantly as I walked, not wanting to get so far away that the two idiots would notice our absence. "So," My voice was low as I watched the waves crashing against the shore, "You've had a run-in with my work before, haven't you?"  
Juvia gasped slightly and took a step closer to me as her hand fell lightly on my back. How sweet, she seemed to be preparing to defend me.  
"Jellal wasn't lying, was he? Are you really the Ghost of Fiore?" Erza's said with an audible shake in her voice. She really was terrified.  
I inclined my head just enough for her to see, not taking my eyes off the sea for a moment. This time it was Lucy who gasped... It seemed that tonight was just the night for surprises. Having Juvia on my side was an unexpected surprise, but one that I greatly appreciated.  
"What did you see?" I needed to be straight to the point, if I didn't get to the bottom of this I would be at risk of being turned in by my own guildmates. Juvia's hand curled in my shirt as she stepped closer to me again, perhaps she was actually leaning into me for protection. Just what would she need protection from here?   
Erza's hand landed on my shoulder as she turned me to look at her with a fire in her eyes, "There was a pile of bodies with the eye hanging over them. Ember, those were innocent people, why would you slaughter them so cruelly?"  
Ah, I see what the issue was, "How long ago was this?" I watched her calmly, there was no doubt that I was right, but I needed to be sure.  
"About six years ago, when I first got out of the Tower of Heaven, nearly an entire village had been killed. At first, I thought that it was a wandering group of bandits who had done that, but eventually, I learned that the eye symbol I saw was the calling card of the Ghost of Fiore. Your calling card."  
Slowly I nodded, thinking of how to phrase this, "The eye was my calling card, but it wasn't me who killed those people." It was easily apparent that she didn't believe me, but I wasn't done just yet, "Just ask the Old Man, I've been in the guild for a little over eight years, though, I may have killed the man who was responsible for that." All three of the girls were shocked at that and I smiled gently, "It's true that I was an assassin and a mercenary, but I only ever killed one person at a time. I think the greatest amount of people I ever killed at once was when carried out a hit on a dark guild that was practicing human experimentation." My tone darkened as my hair covered my eyes, "Believe me when I tell you that they deserved it."  
The next person to break the silence that had grown to an uncomfortable length was Lucy, who was stuttering in terror, "I-I'm sorry, but... How do we know you're telling the truth?" Perhaps she was expecting me to be offended by that question, but it took a lot for me to be even slightly offended, it was a reasonable question.  
"You can always ask the Old Man, I promise, if you know about me, he won't hesitate to answer questions, just tell him that I gave you the ok." The group nodded, even Juvia, whose face was buried in my back at this point, "If that fails, you can always ask Freed, or come over to my house and ask me personally. I don't typically hide things, so I'm a bit of an open book."  
Lucy stared at me in awe as I reached behind me to pull Juvia off me, pulling her in front of me, "Now, may I ask what has you so scared so you can stop using me as your personal shield?"  
The fear in Juvia's eyes was disarming, I almost felt bad, but I knew that if I didn't deal with this now it would just continue, "J-Juvia... Juvia is scared," I nodded, that much was obvious, "If Fairy Tail won't accept Miss Ember because of her sins, then why would they accept Juvia... Juvia helped to attack Fairy Tail, after all, so why would you want to accept her?"  
Once again someone was asking for comfort. The look in the two girls eyes was encouraging, so I gave Juvia a light shove, sending her into their arms, "I'll leave you two to take care of this, I really do have to be going."  
Erza called out, cutting over the two idiots who had now turned the beach into a mass of burn marks and ice, "Wait! You just barely woke up, surely it would be better if you stayed here for a little while. Have dinner with us. It's the least we can do to thank you for saving our lives!"  
My stomach grumbled in response to her invitation. How long had it last been since I ate anything? Answer: too long.  
Unfortunately, sticking around was not a luxury I could afford, there was a major list of things I needed to do before I could allow myself to relax... Mainly giving Gavin a black eye and visiting one of my less favorite places in the world, just in case, either way though, dinner was not in the cards for me.  
I shook my head slightly before starting to walk away, "No can do, I was kidnapped from Era when they were supposed to be interrogating me about this whole Ghost of Fiore business, if I wait to go back they'll be suspicious."  
To be honest, I highly doubted that, if what Siegrain was babbling on about, the council likely had more important things to worry about than little old me. Thankfully, they didn't need to know that, now did they?  
It was a few minutes after I left the beach when the odd pressure began to build up in my chest again. The build was slow but constant, if this kept up I would need to go to that place more than I thought. Porlyusica was not going to be happy to see me.


	24. Learning Curve

Gavin's shop was as dilapidated looking as it ever was; more than once the Thunder God Tribe had offered to help him patch it up, but he refused, saying that it added to the aesthetic of the place... I mean, I wasn't about to tell him how to run his life, and since he sold some products that weren't exactly legal I supposed it made some sense.  
The eye on the doorpost sat there still, looking exactly the same as it had for years. It still opened and closed when I shouldn't go in, but now that was more to let me know when people from dark guilds were there so he didn't have an issue with clashing customers (I didn't tell the Thunder God tribe about those times, because unless they were causing me problems I could care less what they did.)  
The bell over the door chimed as I entered but I paid it no mind, walking instead to the shelves that held Gavin's frequently rotated, and little-used collection of creatures. It was a typical thing for a shady seller to have displayed, since it practically screamed, 'This could end up being you,' to anyone who was brave enough to come in without having prior knowledge of this place.  
Footsteps approached from behind me as I examined one particular specimen, "Where did you get your hands on a dragon fetus?" I asked jokingly, reading the label as I shook my head, "Or rather, who did you have to pay to make this stupid thing believable?"  
Gavin's breath hit the back of my neck as he chuckled slightly and I fought the urge to shiver... I mentioned he was creepy, right?  
I stepped carefully around him ensuring that we didn't touch as I did, "Here for the usual?" His voice had degraded over the years, probably a product of smoking; he never did it in the store, but the stains on his fingers and lips were a dead giveaway. His hair had lost what little color it once had, leaving him with a long, silver ponytail that reached the middle of his back. He really wasn't that old, probably only in his forties, yet he still appeared to be at least sixty...   
Ever and Bixslow had a theory that he had a curse placed on him years ago for selling a defective lacrima to an imp, though they had no proof, and Laxus and I refused to investigate something so stupid.  
"Perhaps," I said casually, looking over potions that had a variety of effects, from simulating drowning in the drinker all the way to causing an explosion when the glass was broken, "What I'm really looking for right now is information."  
My teeth tightened involuntarily as a wave of power washed through me, my magic had been doing this since the tower, I certainly needed my power draining potion, but at this point, I wasn't sure how well that would work. I doubt I had ever felt this much magical energy inside of me.  
The world swam back into focus without Gavin becoming aware of anything, which was good; he may be a creeper, and purposefully obtuse, but if I showed any signs of pain, Gavin would pick up on it immediately. This, obviously, would make my life far harder than it needed to be, and he would have even more of a reason to screw me over.  
A grin grew on Gavin's lips, giving his lips the appearance of being translucent, "Ah, so it's that kind of visit, is it? Very well then, follow me." With that, I was led into a back room where Gavin handled his more volatile clients, as well as first-time consultations. Despite the looks of the rest of his shop, it was a decent enough room, two soft chairs, as well as a few hard ones for those who didn't like the soft chairs. It was barren, with the seating being the only thing in here besides a light lacrima that was giving off a warm yellow glow that made the room feel softer.  
I refused to sit, despite Gavin gesturing me towards a chair, there was no way I was going to spend more time here than I needed to, "I'll admit, it's rare to see you here alone anymore, usually you have your little girlie-friend with you. Is she well?" The sly tone he said that with was more than enough to send a wave of shivers down to my feet.  
"Have you sold any special potions lately?" I asked harshly, not at all willing to answer his pervy question.  
Once again Gavin smiled at me, it was the classic one he used to disarm his customers, "Special potions? I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific, I'm a busy man, you see, trying to identify a potion with that little information is nearly impossible, even for me."  
"Bullshit," My voice cut across his as I glared at him from across the room, "You know exactly what I'm talking about, otherwise you wouldn't have that stupid smile on your face."  
Gavin laughed at this... He fucking laughed. The cockiness coming from him was enough to choke a horse, but he somehow managed to pull it off, "You flatter me, Ember; however, I will still have to claim ignorance on the matter you're talking about. Perhaps some context cl-"   
He was cut off abruptly as my foot smashed against his jaw, the force of my blow sent him hurtling out of his chair as he hit the wall across from him. I reached down and pulled out the neon blue potion that had miraculously survived everything that had happened with the tower and Siegrain. "If you don't know about the special potion, then how about I just open this up? It's not yellow like it used to be, but I'm sure it would have a terrible effect on both of us if we allowed it to become gas."  
Finally, the humor drained from his face as he seemed to realize the predicament he was in, "Enough, I get your point, I'm sorry, alright?"  
"Sorry my ass," I grumbled as Gavin pushed himself up from the floor, I didn't offer him my hand, nor did I care to feel any sympathy for him, "Why would you create something that... Sadistic?" My question rang through the room as I flinched away at the memory of what terrible effects the gas had.  
"Well, it wasn't like I had a choice, now was it?" His voice was slightly petulant as he righted his armchair and rubbed his jaw that was already bruising, "That wizard saint fellow was more than willing to kill me if I didn't do as he asked." Yeah, that sounded like something Siegrain would do.   
"If anything, you should be thanking me, it didn't take a genius to figure out who he was intending the potion for, but figuring out how to make it reacts well with your potion and still have it do what he wanted was one of the hardest things I've had to do in years." This was one of the rare statements Gavin made that made him seem like a normal person, but now that I had gotten that off my chest, there was another reason I came here, besides the need I felt to maim him.  
I sighed, irritation lapping at my insides; I needed to push this away, but now that he was right here in front of me, it would be so easy to... No! Ignore the heartbeat! "Gavin, do you have a more powerful magic draining potion than the one you've been giving me?"  
Surprise lit up his face as he attempted to lean forward on one of his hands, but winced as the shock of my blow hit him again, "A stronger potion? Why would you want that?"  
"No reason you need to know, I thought you had a strict 'no question' policy when it came to your clients. What happened with that?" Anyone just looking in would probably see this as a friendly meeting between two associates, but I knew he could see the venom hiding in my eyes because he sighed slightly and nodded.  
"Very well then, my apologies. Perhaps if I hadn't watched you grow up and been one of the main vendors for your mentors' guild I would be less concerned, but ignore me." I shot him a warning glare which he simply waved away, "I only have one potion that is stronger than the one you currently buy and consume on a regular basis, however it is only meant to be used if you are not intending for the recipient to recover their magic. Honestly, the potions you've been consuming for years can have a similar effect, though to a lesser degree, so I'm not sure what I should tell you."  
The power thrumming inside of me twisted slightly, practically making the decision for me, "Very well then, Give me two of those as well as my usual."  
***  
The woods were gorgeous this time of year, it really was a shame that I was surrounded by this much beauty while on such a distasteful mission. The potions in my pouch reminded me that I needed to go to Porlyusica to get her opinion, but that didn't mean I had to like it.  
Her house, that was carved into the base of a giant tree, came into view before too long, along with the particular scent of spite that she carried everywhere with her like a perfume. I hadn't even seen her yet and I already wanted to turn tail and run.  
It took quite a bit of courage just to lift my hand and knock on the door, doing my best not to show weakness... Porlyusica could probably smell it when I was afraid, "Porlyusica?" I called out almost timidly, "Are you there? I have something that I need your help with."  
The door creaked open ominously before the I saw her glaring at me with that happy face I just knew she would have, "If you need help then get in here, I'm not in the habit of attending to people while they are on the doorstep." If this were another life, I could see us being begrudging friends, we both hated people and had tongues that were as sharp as the many blades we kept around our houses.  
I stepped into the small room that I had only been once before, stood awkwardly in the middle of the room as I tried to decide if this was really worth it.  
"Well," Porlyusica's sharp eyes seemed to attempt to skin me as I stood there, unsure of where I should put my hands, "Don't just stand there, you interrupted my day with this and I would like you to leave as soon as possible, so start talking."  
Thankfully it seemed that with her the most direct route was the best option, "Well, I fell into a building that was infused with the energy of an etherion blast, and now my magic is going haywire and trying to take control. If that happens, lots of people will die, so I need your help."  
Out of all the things she was probably expecting me to say, I doubted that that was any of them, her face remained stoic, but I could feel her heart rate begin to climb drastically... You know, this whole, feeling a heartbeat thing was actually kind of useful.  
"And..." I just about burst out laughing, I really must have shocked Porlyusica because she literally just squeaked. She coughed to clear her throat and tried again, "And just what type of magic do you hold that would cause such a problem?"  
Oh, this is where things were going to get rough, everyone who had once known about my magic was now dead. I really didn't want to tell anyone, but I couldn't do this alone and Porlyusica was the best in her field. I didn't like her personally, but I would have to trust her medically.  
"Blood magic," The words slipped from my lips like a curse as I glared at the ground with spite.  
Porlyusica was silent for a moment, her heart was going so fast that I couldn't tell if it had sped up more since my last words, "You do realize that is a forbidden magic?" Her voice was sharp, digging into my skin like venom.  
"No? Really?!" I asked, my eyes finding hers as I laughed cruelly, "Unfortunately I learned it as a kid, and once it was banned I really had no desire to learn a different type of magic."  
Her movements were quick as she walked across the room to her desk before she leafed through one of her drawers, "That makes sense, I was aware that it was banned relatively recently, how well do you know it?"  
Good, it seemed like she wasn't going to judge me too much, Amber's words came to me from my recent vision, "Well enough to cause trouble, but not well enough to fix the trouble I make."  
Porlyusica's hands stilled for a moment as she was searching as she looked at me, a thoughtful look on her face, "Interesting, when was the last time you used the magic and how have you been controlling it?" I was grateful for this checklist style of questioning, it was far less personal than it would otherwise be.  
Deep breaths Ember, just keep taking deep breaths, "Well, I've been taking magic draining potions religiously for about eleven years now, and I used it earlier this week to save some of my guildmates... Before that, it had been about eleven years for that as well."  
Apparently, she found the paper she was looking for as she stood with her back turned to me, though there was a sizable amount of tension in her stance, "Please don't tell me that you're from Barjor Village."  
Ah, so she knew, did she, "Unfortunately, yes."  
"Stories say that only one person survived, it was the same one who lost control of their magic."  
"Why do you think I've been taking magic draining potions for so long?"  
The terse conversation was over just like that, from there she only asked questions regarding my health and the surges of power that I had been experiencing. Perhaps, below the levels of mutual dislike, there was just a small amount of respect for each other and the experiences we've had.  
Finally, she was done, "If you want my honest opinion, I would say to stop taking the magic draining potions, normally they would have done what you wanted and even stopped your magic from ever coming back, but that isn't how you've reacted."  
I looked at her confused as she sighed, "It seems as though your body reacted to the magical draining potions like it does to exercise, it took the damage you were dealing it, then built it up even higher. That's the only comparison I can think of because your stores of magical energy are larger than anyone I've ever seen. On top of that, jumping into the etherion infused lacrima seems to have given you a jump start, now you not only have a vast amount of magic, the magic is completely full, meaning that there was no build up in regaining it so your body is struggling to adjust."  
As I heard that my eyes widened and my hand dropped uselessly to my side. So everything I had been doing to protect others from my magic had ended up having the opposite effect? I could feel the color drain from me as I considered the implications of this new development, "So... you think I should allow my magic to remain at the level it's at right now?"   
Porlyusica nodded solemnly, "I do, if you attempt to get rid of it at such a high level, it could have severe consequences to your body, leading to Magical Deficiency Syndrome or even death... Though, knowing everything I know now, it's a miracle that you haven't already gotten MDS."  
"No," My voice was low, but there was an audible quiver to it as I sank to my knees, "I can't, if I allow my magic to stay this high it'll take over and I'll end up hurting people again." My eyes met hers, and for the first time I saw compassion as she looked at me, she could see what this power was doing, how much it was tearing me up inside.  
With a heavy sigh, she walked to her ingredient's cupboard and began rifling through it, pulling out ingredients seemingly at random.  
I could hear her muttering under her breath about what a pain this was, and for once I had to agree with her, this was an inconvenience to all of us. Another wave of power washed over me as I knelt there, biting my cheek harshly until blood filled my mouth. The flavor was usual for me, but I could feel my power activating without my command as it began to swirl around my mouth in an unnatural pattern.  
"Here," A bottle was thrust under my nose as I tried to stop my powers, "This should help give you a bit more control when it comes to the power surges. It won't take away the power, but it will mute your perception of it slightly until your body able to adjust. Powerful emotions could still cause you to lose control though, so be careful."   
My eyes widened as I reached out carefully to grab the bottle, but my hand was slapped before I could, "Only take a small sip of it when you feel your magic becoming overwhelming, do you hear me? If you drink this like you drank your magic draining potion you'll end up poisoning yourself before you finish the third mouthful." Porlyusica was glaring down at me as though I had just ruined her day... Which might not be too far from the truth.  
Unfortunately, I still had a question, "You make it sound like this is only a temporary fix, what am I supposed to do when my body adjusts or the potion is gone?"  
Porlyusica shoved the bottle into my hands as she forced me to stand, "I will not make you any more, once this is gone, you'll have to manage your own magic the way any other person would, by using it!"   
Wait, What?!   
I wanted desperately to ask her more questions, but it was too late, Porlyusica was already reaching for the broom which was a definite sign that I was done here. I was a feared assassin and one of the most powerful members of Fairy Tail, but I guarantee you've never seen anyone flee from a woman with a broom as quickly as I did at that moment.   
***  
It felt like it had been ages since I had last seen the guild, even if it had only been a week, at most, yet the whole place looked incredibly different. The framing of the gigantic building was complete and a sizable portion of the walls had been filled in, along with the roof. Normally this amount of progress would be unusual, but when you grouped together large groups of wizards who were being pressured to work in order to relax, I guess it made sense that the building was now over halfway done...  
I could feel the heartbeats from about a half-mile away, which was not only disconcerting, it was also confusing as hell. Once I began to get close, it felt as though there was a whole hoard of monsters was inside because of the chaotic feel.  
By the time I was about thirty feet from the doors, I had to stop and take a sip of Porlyusica's potion because there was just too much blood in one place... It would have been so easy to take control of it and... Speaking of which, I really needed to talk to Freed to see if he could get any information on the specifics of blood magic. I had known a decent amount about my magic and how to control it, but the years had eroded my knowledge to the point where most of what I did was non-verbal, which was a dangerous playing field from what I remembered.  
Ten feet from the doors I could hear what was being said as though they were standing next to me, though it did sound like they were talking through cotton, probably because of the potion. Someone was here that was apparently unwelcome, and the pink haired idiot was currently throwing a fit, which hardly sounded unusual.  
Casually I opened the door and walked in, grinning slightly, both with shock and pleasure, at the scene that I was presented with. The Idiot, Icyman, and Erza were all facing off against Black Steel, who was sitting at a table, drinking something that looked like beer, but I could be mistaken, as my sense of smell was not heightened nearly as much as my eyesight and hearing.  
Juvia was standing slightly behind him, looking scared, until she saw me and relief bloomed across her face. The Blonde... Erm, Lucy was cowering slightly behind Erza, which made quite a bit of sense, seeing as how Black Steel was the one to torture her when she had been taken from me.  
The reason for the animosity quickly became apparent, as both Black Steel and Juvia were sporting prominent Fairy Tail emblems. "Why would you let him in, Master? Gajeel is the one who destroyed the guild!" I winced slightly at the loud voice of the Idiot, even with my enhanced hearing muffled, his voice was still painfully piercing and I wanted him to shut up.  
"How is that any different from the crap you pull all the time, Idiot?" I snapped, pushing past the defensive group to stand between them and the former Phantom Lord members, "I've seen the damage reports on the Old Man's desk with your name on them, don't try to act like you're any better than him."  
I'm pretty sure my words mortally wounded the idiot, as his face began turning red. He sputtered for a few minutes as he attempted to gather his thoughts while Icyman and Lucy were behind him trying to decide whether or not to laugh.  
Finally, after a moment of the pressure accumulating, the Idiot exploded with the force of a volcano, "WHAT?! Why would you compare me to this jerk?! Do you even know some of the things he's done? Take it back!"  
A grin pulled at the corner of my mouth, he certainly was good for entertainment if nothing else, "And why would I do that?" My grin quickly turned malicious as I closed my eyes and tilted my head while my bloodlust came from me in sedated waves, "Honestly I respect him quite a bit, as he had the balls to suck up his pride and join the guild he attacked," My eyes slid open as I continued staring at him, "You don't have to like him, but if you continue to threaten my friends I will have to accept your challenge from earlier and show you just why I was able to beat Siegrain in one on one combat."  
Everyone in front of me shrank away as I said this. See Erza, your glare is good, but this is what you can do if you truly master that art.  
Once I determined that they were sufficiently cowed, I turned away without another word and slipped into the seat across from Gajeel, making eye contact with Squeaky and gestured. Hopefully, she got the message that I wanted a drink... Yeah, that was a bit presumptuous of me, but if getting up again to go ask her myself was far too much effort.  
"Hey, Ghost, who said you could sit here?" He grumbled out as he set his cup down irritatedly.  
My smirk lost its threatening aura as I watched him carefully, "I did, you got a problem with that, Black Steel?" He grunted in response glaring at the wall behind my head, "Also, don't call me Ghost, it's a buzz word right now and most of the guild members don't know."  
That tidbit of information seemed to surprise him, as his eyes shot to me and he cocked his metal-laced eyebrow, "Long story," I murmured quietly, my eyes shooting to everyone to make sure they hadn't heard, "If you're lucky I might just tell you later."  
Erza approached me hesitantly at the same time as Squeaky did, both looking more than a little scared, "Ember?" Erza asked, it seemed that she was still unsure of how to handle what I had told her, "Are you sure you should be sitting that close to him?... It could be dangerous"  
A scoffed forced itself out of me at that? Dangerous? Seriously? I didn't dignify that with a response as I simply watched her, hoping that she would catch on to how stupid that question was.  
"Sorry, I suppose I misspoke, I'm not concerned for you, but rather for Black Steel." She looked away as she said that, trying her best to not look nervous but I could hear how quickly her heart was beating... She was terrified of me.  
At that, Black Steel's eyes sharpened on me, good, he was smart enough to be wary. "You worry too much Erza, I have no reason to hurt him, even if he did destroy the guild hall." I could feel the fear coming from both of them, and while it was a heady feeling, it wasn't necessarily a good one. "He's a member of the guild now, so I will respect him as such until he's proven me wrong."  
A visible shutter traveled down Black Steel's spine, but that seemed to get my point across to Erza, who nodded and walked away.  
"Was that the only reason you came over here? To threaten me?" Gajeels voice was low as he stared deeply into his cup. The look in his eyes seemed to border on helpless, it was so strong that it really just reminded me of myself when I first joined the Thieves Guild.   
I chuckled slightly before taking a long draft of the beer Squeaky had brought me. I didn't really want to drink right now, but I also didn't want to bring even more attention to myself... I was sick of people looking at me, "Did you already forget that I stopped the idiot from fighting you earlier? No, I'm just here to get a drink and talk to the Old Man, you just seemed like the least irritating person to sit with."  
The lights began to dim as Squeaky pulled a stool up onto the stage... Oh just great, this is why I avoided coming here if at all possible. I stood quickly and downed the rest of my beer, "Oh, Black Steel?" I asked, catching his attention, "No one's perfect, I think you know that, but I've chosen to put faith in you despite both of our pasts. I'm not expecting you to be perfect, and I hope you'll extend me the same courtesy. Just... Please don't prove me wrong."  
I walked away quickly, heading towards the Old Man, who had been glaring at me the whole time. This was going to be a terrible discussion, I could already tell.


	25. Makarov's Rebuke

"Ember." The Old Man's glower spoke volumes as I entered his brand new office after returning home. Apparently, the news traveled quickly, and even quicker when it was something I didn't want him to know about, "What have you done?"  
No innuendos, no mind games, the old man certainly knew how to get straight to the point. He gestured to the seat in front of me, obviously wanting me to sit down for this conversation, but I knew better than to accept that trap. I shifted my weight slightly as I looked anywhere in the room but at him.  
"What?" My voice came out sounding about as petulant as I could manage, "No hello, welcome back, or thank you for protecting my children from the idiot who was hellbent on killing the redhead?"  
The old man's stoic expression didn't change at my comment, he was obviously pissed and determined to get answers, "What have you done?" This was different from anything I had seen from the Old Man before, usually, there was some trace of humor or sympathy on his face, yet this time there was nothing, he looked well and truly angry.  
I supposed that I shouldn't be too surprised, if he was mad for the reason I suspected then he had every right to be worried... I sighed deeply before slumping against the wall with my hands in the pockets of my battered leather pants, preparing to defend myself for all I was worth. "I have a feeling you already know what I did, how about you just rant at me so I can go home and take a nap."  
The pressure in the room grew exponentially as his face darkened a few shades in anger, "Do you even feel remorse Ember? You took three lives. How dare you speak of this so casually."  
My gaze sharpened on the rug, old and frayed unlike the office around it, "What use is there for remorse?" I asked, my voice deceptively quiet, "It's a useless emotion, only good for getting in the way of what needs to be done." The faces of my mentors swam before me, that was an ideal they had pounded into my head when I was young... Why did it feel so foreign to me as I said it again now?  
I didn't need to look up to know that the Old Man was shaking with barely repressed anger, the magical pressure that was attempting to smother me was all the evidence I needed.  
"What needs to be done?" His voice trembled as even the ground beneath my feet began to shake slightly, "Murder is never something that needs to be done. Just what were you thinking? Was it jealousy, or perhaps you just wanted to kill again."  
He was beginning to press into areas that were better to avoid, within my pockets, my hands clenched as I fought the magic within me that was beginning to block out my vision. I couldn't give in to my baser instincts. Despite everything, the Old Man was still trying to help in his own way.  
Red pulsed around me as I forced my attention away from anything that could be a distraction. The magic rose in me like a snake, wrapping around my entire being before tightening the coils, longing to be used.  
"You had made it so far, Ember, yet you had to choose now to bring up the past? Do you know what this could lead to?" His words sounded as though they were making their way to me from a long tunnel and I bit my lip harshly as yet another wave of all-consuming power rushed through my body. "How could you be so selfish?"  
Selfish?  
How could I be selfish?  
My world shrank as that one word echoed in my ears once more. He thought I was being selfish?! I forced the power to the side as I breathed in deeply, the oxygen allowing a small amount of control to return, "Is that really what you think Makarov?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper as I kept my eyes on what had to be the carpet, all I could see was seething red, "That I murdered out of selfishness?"  
For once, Makarov was quiet, apparently, I had shocked him by using his name, "Are you really so oblivious to think that I would do anything that stupid just to protect myself? If that was all I wanted, then it would have been a simple matter to let Trinity Raven live and then go into hiding after the whole ordeal."  
I pushed off the wall and began to pace, movement forced blood through my body, which in turn allowed me to think about something besides the power inside of me that was screaming for me to let it take control, "No, do you want to know why I killed three people?" Makarov attempted to say something, but I was too lost in the moment to notice, "It was because of Fairy Tail. It was because you took me in when any sane person would have thrown me to the dogs for what I had done. This place is my Home! Please tell me you understand that, Makarov?"  
Tears began to well up in my eyes as I spoke, but I blinked furiously to hold them back, "If I had allowed Trinity Raven to live, news about me would spread and people would begin to connect the dots. You would be arrested for harboring a criminal along with the Thunder God Tribe, while Fairy Tail would be disbanded, or worse, turned into a dark guild. The rest of the members wouldn't be safe though. Even if they left and hid their past, they would still be hunted for knowing and having associated with me.  
You see, I made my fair share of enemies while I was active, and several allies who were less than pleased that I retired." There was no way to stop it, tears were rolling down my cheeks as I spoke, my breath speeding up to a worrying pace, "Of course I killed anyone who knew about me, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Their lives are nothing compared to yours. If that makes me a murderer, then so be it. If that makes me unworthy to be a member of Fairy Tail, then I will accept that."  
A hand grabbed my wrist as I was about to make another pass of the office, but that wasn't enough to stop the final words that would much rather die in my throat.  
"If that makes you hate me, then... Then..."  
I was pulled to my knees as the tears continued to stream down my face. Soft arms enveloped me, but I would not sob, I couldn't; my fingernails dug into the fabric of my pants, biting past them and into my legs.  
"Then I will take your condemnation and you will never have to see me again." My words were cold and harsh, forced through every insecurity that I buried within me and I waited for Makarov to throw me away from him, to dismiss me as filth so that I could leave and never have to face him again.  
Moments passed and yet nothing happened, no scorn, no rejection, nothing but a soft hand running gently through my black hair.  
Thankfully, the power was as tangled up as my emotions were, so I was allowed to wait in relative peace for him to pass my verdict, to determine what I was worth to him.  
"Oh my child," Makarov's voice was as soft as the fingers that ran through my hair, "You carry so much on your own, when will you learn that your family will always be here to support you, no matter how dark your road may seem?"  
The red that was clouding my vision receded in shock as I finally looked at Makarov, who was watching me with a gentle smile, "My... Family?"  
A deep chuckle came from the Old Man as he nodded, watching me fondly, "I cannot condone murder Ember, but I will never allow you to leave here, as you so aptly stated, Fairy Tail is your home. Families fight and bicker, but at the end of the day, a family will always be there to support and help each other get back on their feet."  
Finally, a grin began to spread across my face as I realized that I would not be kicked out of my home, "So, this family has room for a murderer like me?"  
"Well," Makarov coughed slightly and looked away embarrassed, "I suppose no family is perfect."


	26. Fights Between Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay Bitches, guess who is blasting back onto the scene with a vengeance?! I know I meant this to be a Laxus x OC, yet there's been a shocking lack of the blond spark plug, but don't worry. He's coming back and he'll be here for the foreseeable future! If you can't tell, I'm excited about this chapter, and even just this arc in general. There'll be some fun reveals and some exciting moments between characters who have been long since absent! Are you ready, because I certainly am!  
> ~~~~~~~~~~~

I was so ready for a nap that it wasn't even funny. After dealing with Siegrain, Gavin, Porlyusica, and finally the Old Man, I had had my share of drama for the next century... It really didn't help that I wasn't sleeping because I could hear the heartbeats of everyone in a mile radius of me. I was exhausted, cranky, and sick of people, none of which were a good thing when I needed at least pretend to be nice to my guildmates since I was once again stuck in Magnolia for the time being.  
Thankfully, the hotel I had been forced to rent a room from was close, I honestly didn't care about heartbeats right now, my plan was to go home and fall asleep by whatever means necessary. Just the idea of sleep had me grinning in ecstasy, which I'm sure garnered me some odd looks from people I was passing in the streets; the dark bags under my eyes mixed with my sleep-addled expression definitely had me looking like a dangerous drug addict... Especially with the swords on my hip.  
Unfortunately, it appeared that whatever gods were hanging around really did hate me, as I was stopped in my mission for sleep about a mile shy of my hotel by the sounds of a fight. If this were any other town, I likely would have ignored it altogether unless it seemed like it was excessively dangerous, but I was in Magnolia. One could almost guarantee that any physical altercation that was happening within the area of the town had at least something to do with Fairy Tail, and the last thing I wanted was for the guild's reputation to be dragged through the mud... More than it already was by the trigger happy members of said guild...  
A heavy sigh was pulled from me as I changed direction midstep and began walking towards the fight, grumbling under my breath with every step. Now I not only did I look like a drug crazed fiend, I also looked like a drug crazed fiend that was ready to cut a bitch.  
It only took about a minute for me to reach the action, or rather, the massacre, it seemed that two of the members had taken it upon themselves to beat the crap out of Black Steel. He was taking it all with a slight grimace on his face while a slight blue haired girl stood behind them looking frightened.   
I kind of wanted to interrupt, but I knew that if he had wanted to, Black Steel could have easily defeated these two idiots; which meant that he was allowing them to beat him up.  
Silently, I walked to a nearby tree and jumped up to the lower branches, examining the scene carefully to try and put together what was happening. Obviously, these three held some kind of beef with Black Steel from the Phantom Lord incident, but I wasn't aware of what incident could trigger this. My research on the matter only extended as far as knowing that the Old Man had been hurt and Blonde was kidnapped at one point.   
There must have been something major, as the bluenette's eyes held quite a bit of pain, and the way the two were kicking Black Steel was full of resentment and anger.  
Despite all this, a small grin found it's way to my face as I watched, my respect for Black Steel rising more and more the longer I watched. He knew that these three had a valid reason for their anger, so he was allowing them to beat him so they could feel some sort of vindication. It was a really honorable thing to do... He was going to fit in here well.  
My attention was pulled away from the scene in front of me by another hearbeat approaching, one that was accompanied by the smell of singed fur that I would know anywhere... God damn it. I didn't need my heightened senses to know exactly who was coming and that this was about to get messy.  
Making sure that I stayed out of sight of sight, I slowly adjusted my position so I was holding a small knife in my palm and in a combat-ready stance. There was no need to guess what this would lead to, the Spark Plug was always in a foul mood, so I knew this would go badly.  
"You're not giving the new guy a hard time, are you?" His cocky tone shot through the air, causing both of Black Steel's attackers to freeze mid kick, oh good, they weren't excited to see him either. "I guess I can't blame you, I mean, he did trash our guild and make us the laughing stock of the magical community.''  
My eyes rolled so hard they about popped out of my head, the man reappears after staying away for weeks, only to pretend that he actually cared about the guild? Pathetic... He really hadn't changed much since I last saw him, tall, blond, sparking with energy, and a look that made anyone who saw it think that he had poop shoved under his nose. Of course, his signature coat was wrapped around his shoulders, inflating his width as well as his ego far more than it should have.  
Both of the men who had previously been kicking Black Steel backed away slowly, not wanting to make eye contact with the volatile idiot who was far too likely to strike out at anyone who got on his nerves.  
In a completely foreseeable twist, Laxus took the place of the two standing over Black Steel as they had a glaring contest for a moment and my muscles tensed further, preparing to jump in between him and the small group who were now standing almost directly below me. Finally Laxus seemed to give up trying to intimidate Black Steel as he unleashed a powerful kick straight to Black Steel's ribs as he snarled, "This is pathetic, I bet the Old Man only let you join the guild because he didn't want you trashing the place again. He's weak, just like everyone else here."  
"Because of you, and your guild, Fairy Tail's being seen as weak by the entire region, which is unacceptable!" A blast of lightning hit Black Steel full force and my hands reflexively began to tighten. Gajeel stood weakly, panting as he held his side, pain radiating from him.  
The others beating up Black Steel I was okay with, they had a reason, but this... This was unacceptable, the Spark Plug was simply bitching about a slight irritation done to him. If he continued for much longer, he would have more to deal with than just is own cancerous ego.  
"You know? I stopped at several pubs on my way home from my latest job, and all of them were talking about us, and how weak we are... It really pissed me off!" Honestly, that probably said more about his near alcoholism than it did about Fairy Tail, but that's beside the point. Another wheel of lightning tore towards Black Steel, tearing up the ground as it approached him. Black Steel stood still and allowed it to hit him head-on as a small trickle of blood began to drip down my fingers from where my nails were biting into my palms.  
If Black Steel had dodged that, it would have continued on and hit the group behind him, I know that Black Steel was aware of this... He was protecting the innocent in this fight. I couldn't allow this too-  
"Laxus, that's enough, he's learned his lesson!" One of the men under me yelled that out and I froze, my eyes widening as I stared at Laxus, who was staring at the man with rage in his eyes. Quickly, I looked towards Gajeel who met my eyes and nodded, silently we agreed that he would protect the three while I took on the idiot. How I knew that I don't know, but I did.   
A ball of lightning began to swirl in the Spark Plug's palm as steam almost literally began to pour from his ears, "What did you just say? I'm not taking orders from you, you punk!" The instant before the lightning was released towards the group, I pushed myself off the branch with as much force as I could muster.  
To the casual observer, it probably looked like a black meteor struck Laxus as I slammed into him full force, sending us both flying away from where he had been, slamming into the ground again about twenty feet away from where he started.   
I was able to rebound quickly, and in an instant the two of us were on our feet again, staring each other down, him with twin balls of lightning, and me with a small knife in my hand. My swords were attached to my hips still, but I really didn't want to fight him with lethal intent right now.   
"You really love the sound of your own voice, don't you?" I hissed, double checking to make sure I was in between the Spark Plug and Black Steel who had successfully intercepted the Spark Plug's attack. "You guys okay?" This was, obviously, addressed to the people who were standing with open mouths behind Black Steel, looking as though the world had just shifted on its axis.  
I don't think the Spark Plug was stupid enough to jump into a fight with me just yet, but I kept my guard up anyways, watching him closely as the bluenette finally was able to get words out, "We... We're fine Miss Ember... Um, how long were you standing there?"  
"Just long enough to get a read on the situation. Now you should probably thank the moody dragon slayer for protecting you against the big bad spark plug, shouldn't you?" Laxus' face quickly darkened to a nice shade of crimson as I felt the moody dragon slayer in question huff angrily before turning around and storming away, "You guys should probably follow his example, No one else needs to get in the middle of this."  
Thankfully, I didn't need to repeat myself, as the moment I spoke, the trio was already scurrying away.  
"Now," I said, turning back to the Spark Plug with a devilish grin, "I believe I owe you a fight."  
***  
The tension was high as I walked through the woods using paths that looked overgrown, as though they were nothing more than game trails. The only ones who knew differently were the Thunder God Tribe, Spark Plug, and me because we were the ones who had made the trails. They wandered through the woods in an aimless manner, meant to throw off anyone who might try to pursue us (I had every right to be a little paranoid as a kid, so yeah, these paths were expertly laid out).  
After our close encounter in the park, both the Spark Plug and I had agreed that it would be better for us to move the fight to our old training grounds, somewhere where we couldn't level Magnolia with our strikes. True, I didn't release energy when I fought, but I did have to deflect the Spark Plug's blows, and he did more than enough damage for the both of us.  
Thankfully, he had decided to meet me there, instead of actually following me, so I was able to make my way home without him breathing down my neck. I had one or two shield lacrimas that I would have to place as soon as I got there, but other than that, all I would have to worry about would be retaining my title as the undisputed victor of our fights. I mean this was high stakes, we had fought 1,824 times throughout the years, of those we had tied 1,795 times, completely unable to get the upper hand on the other. The remaining 29 times I had emerged the victor, which was something Spark Plug absolutely hated since he took it as a direct attack against his character.  
Usually, the Thunder God Tribe was able to smooth things over easily enough and at the end of the day we parted as friends, but for the last two years, Laxus had taken his losses especially badly. Don't get me wrong, I didn't pity the man at all, or feel sympathy for him, but I did worry; he was, after all, one of my best and oldest friends.  
After about ten minutes of walking, I arrived at our he clearing; it was probably the size of three guild halls put together and it was obviously well used. Scorch marks lined the ground in some areas, showcasing particularly vicious matches, and random runes still hung around. These always made matches interesting, because sometimes an old rune would activate in the middle of a fight, causing a barrier that the others had to work around.   
Needless to say, the others had really grown to hate my immunity to Freed's magic.  
Quickly I got to work, my lacrima's were nowhere near the quality of Freed's simple protections, but I made do, seeing as how I was almost positive that The Thunder God Tribe was on a mission right now.  
Spark Plug was due to be here in ten minutes, so I did my best to spread the lacrima's as evenly as possible in order to get good coverage, but even with that they only covered half the field. My fingers began drumming against my leg nervously about two minutes in as I tried to force myself to lean against a tree and relax... It wasn't working.  
Was I nervous about Laxus beating me? Absolutely not, I cared about this fight still and had every intention of winning, but in the end, it was only a fight, nobody's lives depended on me winning this (compared to the majority of my other fights for the last month or so, this was a walk in the park). No, what really got to me was the fact that I could feel my power thrumming beneath my skin.  
What if I accidentally grabbed Laxus' blood and killed him? I had tasted it more than once, so I knew that I would be able to control it without issues. My emotions were always heightened during my fights, especially during fights with Laxus, and Porlyusica told me that emotions could cause my magic to be volatile.  
Unable to stay still, I forced my body to stand with a slight groan, my body was sore and my mind was wired, it was a bad combination.  
As my mind continued to gain speed, a green head of hair appeared from the path, stopping me in my tracks. Immediately after him, familiar blue hair came into the clearing, partially covered, as it usually was, by his visor.  
A grin burst onto my face, completely unbidden as I watched them, they had yet to look up and see me, which meant... Quickly I pulled out a small knife from my sleeve and threw it across the clearing with pinpoint accuracy, causing it to slam into the trunk of a tree that was only a few inches from Freed's nose.  
For the first time that day I began to laugh, as the instant Freed registered what had almost just happened a girly screech echoed across the clearing, followed by Bickslows rich laugh. The two of us were doubled over as we laughed at Freed, who was now glaring at me ferociously.  
"Was that really necessary Ember?" He snapped, trying to act as though he hadn't just been affected... Needless to say, he failed miserably, I watched as he walked past the tree, giving it a wide berth.  
It took a moment to answer him, as I slowly straightened and my wild sounding laugh faded to nothing more than a small smirk, "Absolutely. Your guard was down Freed, I needed to make sure your reflexes were still sharp, though now I have some doubts about that."  
Bickslow sniggered once again as he walked up to me, "It's good to see you again, kid, it's been way too long!" I deadpanned as he slapped me on the shoulder.  
"It's been a month, idiot, not three years," I said with a long-suffering sigh.  
Mischief sparked in his eyes as he tried to lean on Freed, who sidestepped him, "I suppose you're right, though it certainly seemed like longer, especially since you abandoned me to face Ever's wrath alone. That kinda thing'll make a man feel all alone in the world."  
Freed facepalmed at that, before he interjected, "As exciting as this is, we did actually come here for a reason, Ember, did you put up any protection in the area for your fight?"  
Ah yes, that's right, "Yeah," I drawled out before I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly, "They aren't very good though, I didn't have enough to cover the whole area. Honestly, I could really use your help here Freed."  
He hummed in acknowledgment, "True, I suppose that would be good, after all, it would be a shame if the forest was destroyed today." A gentle grin was shot at me from the grass headed man, making me smile back, thank God he already forgave me for the knife incident.  
With the efficiency of a soldier, Freed pulled out his rapier and walked towards the 'spectator' section of the clearing, beginning the process of adding to the defensive barrier.  
Bickslow remained by me still grinning with his tongue out, an incredibly difficult looking feat that I still didn't know how he did, "So," I said casually, stretching my arms above my head, trying to get a kink out of my neck, "Why are you guys here? I was sure you were on a mission."  
I was only looking at him from the corner of my eye, but I couldn't miss the way his eyes widened slightly and his heartbeat picked up, "What? Oh, umm, we just finished with our job, we were coming back and Boss told us about your guys' fight. No way were any of us missing that, so we hightailed it over here. We're leaving again once it's done."  
That was a perfectly reasonable explanation, so why did he seem so nervous? That was odd...  
"Oh really? That's quite the detour to make just to see us! I mean, I did only decide to fight the Spark Plug about a half hour ago. Pretty convenient timing if you ask me." It wasn't, really, I just needed to test out his reaction to see if he would act guilty if I pushed him.  
Just as I suspected, cracks started to form in his 'cool' exterior and a bead of sweat trailed down his cheek, "What? No, We were already almost here and... The timing worked out perfectly, I mean... Why wouldn't we come back here? Hehehe," The urge to facepalm was so strong, he was bad at excuses, to say the least...  
I could feel two more heartbeats approaching as Bickslow fell into a guilty silence. I knew Freed could hear us as well, and when I looked at him I could practically hear the unease that was radiating from him.  
"So..." I drawled out, shaking my head, this was the first time in years they had tried to hide anything from me, that knowledge actually stung a bit, "What's the scheme?"  
As I said this, Freed froze and Bickslow jumped about a foot away from me, "Scheme? What scheme? Why would you say we were scheming anything, that's such an odd idea, Us scheming something?!" No... Just stop Bickslow, you're only making this worse for yourself.  
The last time he had been like this was when they tried to plan a surprise birthday party for me, Bickslow was just terrible at keeping secrets, and Freed wasn't much better, between the two of them, I figured out what they were planning within only a day of interrogation. Surprisingly, Ever was the best secret keeper of the three, which is why I was a little confused at why she wasn't with them... Give me five more minutes and I would be able to figure out whatever it was they were hiding.  
"That's enough, Bickslow." The two heartbeats that had been approaching had finally arrived, and it certainly wasn't hard to tell who it was, "Keep your nose out of this Ember, it's none of your concern."  
I turned to the Spark Plug, grinning tightly as I bit my cheek, since when did I not have a right to know what was going on with my friends? "Fine then, I'll just ask you," I said waspishly, "What kind of idiotic plot have you cooked up?" The air was beginning to spark around the Spark Plug as he growled, did he really think I wouldn't notice?  
The three extra's quickly began to retreat, which was good, I had a feeling this would be a particularly volatile fight, my swords slid out of their sheaths like butter and all was silent for just a moment.  
Breath deeply Ember, concentrate.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
No signals were needed, after a short period of time, we streaked towards each other, nothing more than flashes of yellow and black that clashed in the center of the field. Sparks exploded as lightning met steel, but that was only the start.  
Neither of us needed to test each other's power, we had fought often enough to know what to expect, both of our reflexes were fast enough that we were able to keep up effortlessly with each other.  
I knew his attack pattern and he knew mine, which is a large part of why we tied so often, and while he beat me in raw power, I outclassed him in maneuverability, his defense was nearly impenetrable, but so was mine. It was honestly a bit irritating how evenly matched we were.  
"I hope you've been practicing," He said condescendingly as we were in one place for more than a second, "You seem to be a bit weak right now."  
Bastard... In retaliation I swiped my sword past his defenses, aiming to strike him straight on in his stupid head, but only leaving a scratch on his cheek, "Remind me again which of us has fought again two wizard saints in the last month? I'm pretty sure it was me, but I could be wrong."  
This continued for some time, we clashed over and over again, my magical immunity helping me to overcome most of his direct hits, but we both were getting cuts and bruises.  
Underneath all of that I could feel my magic moving, it proved to be such a distraction that Laxus managed to get in a solid hit to my side, sending me flying into a tree. Shit. If I continued, I was more than likely to hurt him by accident.  
I jumped to my feet, making look like his hit had done nothing to me when just the opposite was true. His hit had struck right where Siegrain hit to send me into a wall during our fight and it knocked the breath right out of me. Before he could reengage, Laxus looked at me with a curious look on his face, "I heard a rumor that there were four confirmed deaths, did you by chance have anything to do with that?"  
Damn it, this was what I didn't want to happen, "What rumors are you listening to, Spark Plug? That's an oddly confidential piece of information to have heard through the grapevine."  
Cue the return of his insufferable smirk, "I have my sources, now answer the question, Coal head."  
Quickly I lunged at him as I growled viciously, "Fine, three of the deaths were my doing, now either we can fight or we can have a therapy session, we can't do both."   
I could hear mutters from the sidelines, but I did my best to block them out as I focused on winning.   
It wasn't long before it was over anticlimactically, me on his back with a sword against his throat and a stream of blood dripping down into his electric blond hair. I hadn't fared well in this fight, which had led to me taking several full strength hits that my magical immunity wasn't able to block entirely. I was sore, and if this continued any longer I would probably collapse from sheer exhaustion.  
The Spark Plug wasn't to be outdone though, because he had his hand solidly on my face, so if he was able to bypass any of my magical immunity I would suffer some severe consequences. This battle was a tie and we both knew it.  
I slumped to the ground without prompting as I cleaned off my blades, which had quite a bit of the Spark Plug's blood on them... I was pushed to my limit in more ways than one, it was time to retreat.  
Ever, Freed, and Bickslow all came out from behind the shield as they cheered like fans at a sports festival, "Ember, that was amazing!" Ever squealed as she ran to try an hug me before landing on the ground as I sidestepped her.  
"It's a good thing I added additional wards," Freed said seriously, a hint of a smile in his eyes as we all took in the battlefield that was our training grounds; it honestly looked like a bomb had been dropped on the area with how torn up the ground was.  
"Geez, that's insane, how many times have the two of you tied now? 1500?" Bickslow asked incredulously, his tongue out and I flinched as the face of a different person superimposed myself over him. The Rock Band Wannabe covered Bickslow and I nearly took a step back, only barely hearing what he said.  
"1796," Spark Plug and I said at the same time, well, it's good to know that I wasn't the only one who obsessively kept track of our matches.  
"Well," I said as I stretched out my sore muscles, "I need to sleep, so I'll be going now," Everyone nodded as I clasped Ever on the shoulder with a small grin, "And Spark Plug?" Laxus looked at me with a lazy grunt, "If your plan does anything to hurt the guild, I will destroy you before forcing you to apologize to the old man."  
With that I turned away and headed to our trail, leaving everyone behind me with shocked looks on their faces.


	27. Character Q&A

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was made using questions I gathered from Wattpad and Quotev, so ignore the names on the questions, it's still a pretty fun read!

For once, all was quiet in the guild, Natsu and his usual team were gone, which probably contributed to a lot of that and while there was a bit of tension hanging around, it was peaceful.   
Of course, there were the usuals, Cana sitting on top of a table with her keg of beer in her lap, and Mira at the counter with Makarov; but there were also some odd additions, which included Laxus, Ember, and the Thunder God Tribe. This group certainly gained some uncertain looks from their peers, but for the most part, they kept to themselves, unwilling to deal with anyone else.  
Quiet conversations were all that could be heard, and everyone couldn't help but take a deep breath of relief. There had been so much insanity going on lately that even just a few minutes of peace was much appreciated.  
Considering that, it was no surprise hat the guild door opening caught everyone's attention quickly, even if it was just in an inquisitive manner. Obviously, most people, including Laxus and the others in the thunder god tribe dismissed this quickly enough and turned back to their personal conversations, but the hooded person who came through carried with them a completely foreign aura that captured the attention of the more sensitive in the room.  
The stranger, a tall person completely shrouded in their cloak, carefully closed the door behind them, aware of the sets of eyes that were glued to their back. They knew that they could only fly below the radar for so long before everyone decided to pay attention... After all, they were here to kick ass and take questions, so why not start with a bang?  
As soon as the door clicked, the stranger muttered out a short incantation, which caused a white glow to appear and begin to spread quickly. Soon enough, the room was covered in the white and for a moment, nobody could see because the light was too bright.  
As everyone surged from their seats, tendrils of white rose from the floor to wrap around their ankles, rooting them in place.  
"What the hell are you doing?" An irate Ember growled out, her weapons ready in her hands as she prepared to face this unknown foe.  
Before the stranger could answer, the light reached blinding levels and everyone was forced to close their eyes for a split second, which was more than enough. By the time they opened their eyes, their scenery had changed completely. No longer were they surrounded by the familiar scenery of the Fairy Tail guild hall, but rather an odd room made of strange materials and little comfort.   
The only seating available was sparse benches, and there were odd machines in the corner that held brightly colored packages. Through windows, a sheet of ice could be seen in one direction while the other, that must have lead to the outside, appeared to have snow as well, as well as oddly shaped contraptions that looked a bit like magical cars.  
The cloaked figure was still in front of them, but now their cloak had disappeared, leaving a tall, brown-haired woman who had a slightly apologetic look on her face, "Sorry about that..." She said awkwardly, rubbing the sleeve of her navy blue shirt that seemed to be a uniform of some kind, "I didn't mean to startle you, but this was the only way I could make sure I get to talk to you guys."  
Silence reigned for only a moment before everyone started talking at once, though some voices were certainly louder than others, "Where are we?!" Wakaba called out furiously, his pipe clenched firmly between his teeth.  
The other comments that were being called out all seemed to be along the same line, minus one, that was said by the short guild master, who approached the woman from the crowd, glaring threateningly at her, "What is the meaning of this?"  
The woman, far from looking intimidated, simply sighed as she waited for the yelling to die down a bit, "Don't worry Makarov, I don't mean you guys harm, I just needed to pull you here so I could guarantee I have your attention."   
Once again the talking exploded as everyone attempted to make their opinion known at once, causing the noise to explode into the large room with the sound of a bomb going off. Nobody liked this situation, but the woman could care less. She was in control here, and most of the guild knew it... Otherwise, there would have been a full-scale riot on her hands.  
Ember kept an eye on the woman, completely befuddled, normally she was able to get a read on a person just based on the feel of their power and blood, but there was nothing to read on this person. It was unsettling and she didn't like it.  
The woman, on the other hand, ignored the eyes that remained riveted on her as she navigated her way through the crowd, heading towards an enclosed area in the corner that had a desk. along with large racks of ice skates... one of the only things most of the wizards recognized on sight.  
"Attention!" The woman called out, now standing on top of the desk waving her arms above her head, "The sooner you all shut up, the sooner you can go home and forget this ever happened!" That did the trick nicely, those who were yelling out their displeasure got quiet immediately as everyone was now glaring at the woman on the desk. "So you know, my name is Klypso, and I've asked people to come up with questions for you guys, so all you need to do to go home safely is answer some questions."  
Everyone began looking around with bated breath, could it really be this easy? After fighting big bad guys for so long, was there no catch to what she was asking? "Of course," Klypso said and people began to sigh dejectedly, waiting for the other foot to drop, "If you don't answer the questions to my satisfaction, you'll have to elaborate on your answer until I'm satisfied."  
People once again began to look at each other quizzically, she was playing the role of a bad guy, but what she was asking was incredibly easy.   
Flashes of light began to glow through the room as certain people began to disappear as Klypso muttered under her breath, quiet enough that only Ember could hear what she was saying, "Forgot how many members there are... Gosh darn it, Gavin... Way too crowded." Once again the volume rose until it was audible to everyone else, "Sorry, I brought too many people here, give me a sec... Don't worry, I'm just sending them back to Fairy Tail."  
As soon as the flashes stopped, the group was considerably smaller, only The Thunder God Tribe, Makarov, Laxus, Gajeel, Ember, and Cana were still around, simply staring at Klypso with expressions that ranged from confusion to straight up anger.  
"Um..." Makarov was able to get out before he coughed slightly to clear his throat, "I don't believe you ever answered a question that was posed to you before; where are we?"  
Klypso moved to sit on the desk as she began threading her fingers in odd patterns, "Oh, yeah, I guess I owe you an explanation before we start, don't I?" Everyone nodded as she winced, "I won't say I'm sorry that I brought you here, because I'm not, but I will say sorry for how I did it. The spell I bought was only supposed to bring over certain individuals, the group I have now in fact. Anyways, you're in my world right now, a world where Fairy Tail, and by extension, all of Magnolia, is something that only exists in fantasy books.  
"You guys are adored by many, which means that there are obviously people who have questions for you, so I was able to get ahold of a contact of mine to bring you here temporarily. As I said, all you have to do to go back is answer our questions, so... Shall we get started?"  
Everyone (Besides Cana, who still was quite drunk) looked far too confused to give a proper answer to that, so Klypso nodded and pulled out a small sheet of paper, "Don't worry, there aren't a ton, it won't take too terribly long. Also, stop looking at me like that Laxus, your stink eye has no effect besides making you look like you have constipation."  
Ember snorted audibly at that, dropping to sit on a bench as she finally deemed this to be a safe situation, "Fine, ask your questions, let's get this over with."  
"I'm glad you said that, Ember," Klypso said with a slightly sadistic grin, "Because the first question is for you." A shiver ran down Embers spine, but she refused to back down to this woman who may be the same height as her but was weak in every aspect that Ember was strong in.  
"The question is from Zodiac_Spirit, who asks: Ember, on a scale of one to ten, how hard is it to control your magic?" The question immediately caused Ember to blanch as the others began to look at her curiously, panic was evidently growing in her eyes, which Klypso seemed to love.  
Ember's eyes were wide and she was as still as a statue as she battled the panic that was hidden oh so well, "What kind of stupid question is that? I don't have magic. I think whoever asked that should check their facts." Was what she finally forced out.  
Klypso cooed slightly, causing an irritated blush to darken Ember's cheeks, "Oh dear, that answer just doesn't cut it, so how about we try this again. Don't worry Ember, once you leave here, you'll forget this whole thing ever happened. Now, on a scale of one to ten-"  
"I get it, I get it!" Ember snapped, cutting over Klypso's condescending words, "It's damn hard right now... Maybe an 8 at this moment, but it's gotten to 10 several times since it flared back up. Porlyusica says it should be fine eventually, but even she doesn't know when that will be." She shifted lower in her seat, avoiding the curious looks everyone else was giving her. "Are you happy now?"  
Everyone was staring at Klypso with a bit of fear in their eyes, where did the awkward shy girl from earlier go? This version was terrifying!  
"Very." Klypso shifted slightly with a satisfied grin, "I guess we'll get the heat off of you for the moment, this next one would probably be best to direct to the Thunder God Tribe. Any of you can answer, scottadam682 was quite curious about this and I look forward to your answers; What are some of the funniest nicknames Ember has made up for people and why? What is the story behind them?"  
The whole team heard that and slumped slightly in relief, apparently, they thought that all the questions would make the recipient as nervous as it did Ember. They were quiet for a moment before Freed spoke up quietly, "The thing you should know about Ember and her nicknames is that they are rarely clever. Most of them are simply the most obvious physical attribute, such as the one she used to call me, Grass Head, or calling the Master Old Man; honestly, Laxus does the exact same thing by calling Ember coal head because of her black and red hair. It's rare that she comes up with a good one."  
One look at Ember made it painfully obvious that she was deeply offended by Freed's observation.  
"Though," Bickslow jumped in, "When she does, it's a beautiful mix of offensive and accurate, like Miana Harper. Do you guys remember her?"  
The entirely of the Thunder God Tribe, as well as Cana, groaned at the name, "Oh God yes," Evergreen said as she twirled a piece of her hair between her fingers, "That woman was the epitome of the expression 'two-faced,' and she treated the younger generation like we were stupid."  
Bickslow nodded emphatically, "Exactly, which is why we all kinda adopted Ember's name for her, what was it again?" He looked expectantly at Ember who grinned a little.  
"Miss Bitch."  
Evergreen's face lit up as she stopped slouching against Ember to look at Klypso excitedly, "She has a good for that one team in Blue Pegasus, you know, the one with the perfume creeper?"   
Ember's face twisted immediately as she realized who Evergreen was talking about, "Oh God..."   
Ever smiled triumphantly as she gestured, but then stopped for a moment, "Though, I'm not sure if that's a nickname, or what she instinctively says whenever she sees them." Slowly Evergreen trailed off her own face curling in disgust at the idea of that creeper.  
Slowly, Klypso looked at Freed, obviously expecting him to say something, "I suppose the one she came up with for Makao and Wakaba is rather amusing, if not... odd. I honestly have no idea where she came up with it, she just saw them one day and asked us about Tweedledee and Tweedledum. It took us ages to figure out who she was talking about."  
A pencil appeared out of thin air as Klypso moved to mark something off on her paper, "Thank you so much, that was indeed amusing, now Gajeel, I'm sure you want to go back to the guild?" She looked up at the Dragon Slayer, who nodded with narrowed eyes, "Perfect, I only have one question for you, then you can go home. Zodiac_Spirit wanted to know what you've thought of Ember thus far? Also, did the fight with Laxus change your opinion at all?"  
The two had a rather intense stare down for a moment before Gajeel sighed and looked away, "I don't know what you want me to say, Ghost is just as terrifying now as she's always been." Klypso glared at him slightly and he sighed, "Fine, you said everyone'll forget this when we leave, right?" Klypso's grin said it all, "If you really want to know, I respect the hell out of Ghost, she a ridiculously good fighter, I mean, she took me out in less then a minute when we fought. I really didn't know that anyone could move as fast or as ferociously as she does without magic... Though, apparently..."  
He faded out awkwardly as he glanced at Ember, who shifted down into her seat, trying to avoid everyone's stares.  
"Oh bravo Gajeel, you made a perfect segway to give another question to you, Ember!" Klypso looked a little too happy about this as she waved her hand and Gajeel disappeared in a flash of light.  
"Why the fuck are all the questions about me!" Ember growled out, having snapped ever so slightly.  
Klypso's ominous laugh echoed through the room, "Because, my dear Ember, you're the belle of the ball! Now, shall we continue? AstelleDreemurre wanted to know why you don't show your kind and motherly side more? She gets that you were an assassin, but you don't live that life anymore... At least you shouldn't. And yes, she knows about that."  
A visible wince raced across Ember's face, "I don't know what you're talking about. I am not kind and motherly, and even if I was, there would be no way in hell that I would just show that to people who don't know me."  
Eyerolls could be seen all around as Klypso snorted, "Real quick, raise your hand if you think Ember has a kind and motherly side." Every hand in the room went up, which included Cana and Laxus, even the Ghost of Ikaruga from Trinity Raven popped back up to cast her vote in the positive.  
"Fine, I have a kind and motherly side, whatever," Ember grumbled as a storm cloud began to gather around her head. The others in the room simply chuckled at her irritation  
As Klypso consulted her list, a sly smirk began to grow on her face, "Oh Evergreen, I have one just for you!" Her voice was singsongy as she leaned forward to smile at Ever, who looked absolutely terrified, "ginjaninja2801 Has a question for you that I am particularly curious about. Do you have a thing for Ember? She low-key ships you, and I must say I agree."  
The question caused Ever's face to flush completely red as both Bickslow and Freed began to laugh quietly... Well, Freed began to laugh quietly while Bickslow had to cover his mouth to stop himself from going over backward with his laughter. Everyone besides Ever and Ember was grinning at least a little, while those two were looking everywhere except at each other.  
It was a full minute before Evergreen could get more than a squeak out, "I-I... I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. I respect Ember as a phenomenal fighter, and she's my friend. I don't know why that needs to equal having romantic feelings... Besides... Besides... You should really ask someone else a question so we can get this over with!"  
Suddenly a flash enveloped Evergreen and in an instant she was gone, leaving everyone looking between where she had been sitting and Klypso, who looked just as confused.  
"Wait..." Klypso pulled out a notebook labeled, 'Magical Anomalies, Notes and Observations' before jotting down whatever was in her head, Midoriya style. "That is interesting, it seems that particularly strong adverse emotions can force a person to fade back to their own world... In this case, embarrassment." As soon as she was done, she put her notebook away and turned back to the group, "Sorry about that, I wasn't even aware that that was possible... We're actually close to the end, so shall we continue?"  
Reluctantly everyone nodded and Klypso turned to Cana, who met her stare with no fear and a keg of beer that Klypso knew had not been here where she brought the group here, "Okay... I guess that's on character, so whatever." Cana grinned at her, causing Klypso to roll her eyes in exasperation, "ginjaninja2801 had a question for the whole guild, but you seem like you have your ear to the ground. What is the general view of Ember right now? How does everyone see her?"  
At that, Cana laughed, "Man, I thought you were going to ask me something difficult, this is a piece of cake! Most people are genuinely terrified of Ember, they don't know her well enough to understand her, but she isn't enough of a stranger to idolize her like she was not too long ago. It honestly cracks me up, because it's extremely obvious that Ember doesn't give a crap about what others think of her."  
"Of course, there's a small group of people that seem to... Idolize her? No, that isn't the right word, it's more like they really, really admire her. Unfortunately, that group does include myself, Alzack, and Biska, as well as a few others."  
With that Klypso smiled and waved, "Well, it looks like that's it for the group questions, though I do have a few more for Ember and one for Laxus. If the rest of you want to go home, I can certainly make that happen."  
Cana and Makarov both volunteered to go home, as he had decided that Klypso wasn't a threat to his children, which just left the Thunder God (Minus Evergreen), Laxus, and Ember. Now that Bickslow and Freed knew that they were no longer in the line of fire they seemed rather eager to hear what happened next.  
"This one should be pretty easy," Klypso said, for the first time wearing a genuine smile as she looked up at Ember, "ginjaninja2801 Asked if Freed is like a brother to you?"  
Without hesitation, Ember nodded as she looked at the Grass head in question, "Well, yeah. I mean, I see all of the Thunder God Tribe as my family... They were the first ones to give me a chance when they could have delivered me straight to the council because of the bounty that was on my head."  
Out of the corner of her vision, Klypso could see a tear welling up in Freed's eye as he watched Ember with pride.  
"And to go a step further, Freed was the one who stood up for me when the Old Man announced that I would be joining their team. Even then he was willing to look past the emotions and see the fact. If I'm being honest, that's something I really admire about him." Ember had a far off look as she spoke, so she completely missed the fact that Freed was now sobbing as a near blinding light pored out of him.  
This wasn't Klypso's magic at work here, this was just his inner paternal feelings coming out in tangible waves.  
Bickslow was grinning at the situation, just as happy about it as the others were; but he was curious about one thing, "I swear you've used that name before, how many people do you have asking questions? At first you made it seem like there was a large group."  
With that question came the return of shy Klypso, she tugged on the long sleeve of her shirt as she looked away in embarrassment, "Well, I guess there aren't as many people around as I stated, but the ones I do have come back regularly and are just genuinely great people... All of them have been so supportive about my work, which has meant the world to me; even the ones who didn't ask a question are still reading, which is so weird to me to begin with. Anyways, sorry for rambling, I really only have one question left."  
Klypso coughed to clear her throat as she changed the subject away from her, "Last question Ember, this is one I completely agree with; fulltime_reread asked if you have ever tried medication for your PTSD? She also added that you should, and to take care of yourself.  
The question was met with a completely blank stare as Ember arched her eyebrows, "PTSD? What's that? I mean, thanks for the concern, but I'm a bit confused as to what that even is."  
It took everything Klypso had to not face palm at that. Sure, Fiore was advanced in a lot of ways, but their knowledge of anything related to mental health was surprisingly subpar. Unwilling to write the whole definition of PTSD down, Klypso leaned over to Ember and began to whisper in her ear. It took a moment, as PTSD is an incredibly complicated mental illness, but once the point had been made, Ember shot out of her seat.  
"Wait, there's a name for that?!" Shock poured from the girl in waves as she realized that there was a word for that, "I thought that was normal! You mean that other people experience this kind of thing too?"  
This just about broke Klypso's heart as she watched this, it struck a few to many chords with her, "Absolutely, it's pretty common, especially when you've experienced as many traumatic events as you have... I mean, medication isn't a cure all, but it can definitely help, I just wouldn't know where to look for help in Magnolia... Maybe we can do that another time?"  
Ember visibly restrained herself as she nodded, sitting back down, deep in thought, "But won't we forget this when we leave here?" The whole group got quiet, as even Freed and Bickslow had begun to make plans to try and help Ember out with this new issue.  
"Yes, but don't worry," Klypso's hand moved to rest gently over Ember's, "I will remind you, no matter how long it takes." Slowly Ember nodded as she twisted her hand around to grip Klypso's a bit better. "Well, I guess that wraps that up, I guess I can send you guys home now, thanks for doing this for me, it really does mean a lot."  
Everyone began to stand as they prepared to be sent home, "Wait a minute, Princess," An irritated voice rang from the corner of the room, one that had mostly been forgotten up till now, "I thought you had a question for me, if you didn't, then what was even the point of bringing me here? I had a million better things to do than sit here and listen to all you idiots chat."  
Once again Klypso turned, a familiar creepy grin on her face as she locked her sights on the irritable blond dragon slayer, "Oh, that's right, you are here, I feared for a moment you had lost your tongue." A tick mark appeared on Laxus' forehead, but Klypso really didn't care about that, "This question comes from someone who you could say I am particularly close to, klypso01 was wondering if you used your big cloaks and your bigger attitude as a shield against the fact that you have a small dic-"  
And that's how the fight started. Nobody knows who won, seeing as how their memories were erased once they got back to the guild hall, but those who knew Laxus well could tell that something was off...  
Perhaps it had something to do with the unexplained words that had been scrawled on his neck that nobody knew the meaning to, "Little Man Syndrome."


	28. Heartbreaking Choices

I slept for nearly a week straight after our fight, regaining strength and the desire to leave the house. Nightmares intruded into my waking moments and as I was surrounded by the sounds of blood rushing at every moment, but as the week went on, things slowly began to change.

The sound and feeling of blood became less prominent as my body adjusted, it was still there, but I wasn't always filled with the urge to grab it and pull the blood out of all my temporary neighbors. In fact, if this continued to get better, I may be okay with the idea of leaving the house before the year ended.

My life probably would have been much easier if I had gone home to Balsam village and been away from people, but two things were stopping me; Laxus and Lahar. The reason Laxus was stopping me should be fairly obvious, so I'll just ignore that. Lahar was a completely different matter altogether, one that I kind of wanted to just ignore, but I really didn't have that luxury because he knew how to contact my emergency lacrima... And he certainly wasn't afraid to bug me.

A large amount of time over the last week had been him calling me over and over to come to Era so he could give me a job, while I continued to explain to him that I couldn't for at least another week beyond this one because I was still on a needed break... I got that the job must have been important with how much he was bugging me but was there really no one else who could do it?

That is where I was when a knock on my hotel room door roused me from sleep reluctantly; I was irritable, tired, and well aware of just how cranky I was. I suppose I did feel bad for whoever had decided to brave my bad mood, but that didn't stop me from opening the door with a vengeance. A scowl on my face, my hair a complete rat's nest, and bruise-like bags under my eyes that clearly showed just how much sleep I still needed; a terrifying sight to be sure, but it was the one that greeted my comrades.

"Ember?!" The faces that belonged to the voices were still blurred beyond recognition as I tried to wake up, though I could clearly pick out several bright shades of hair that probably belonged to people I knew.

I nodded slightly before reaching up to rub my arm across my eyes as a ginormous yawn caused my whole jaw to pop loudly, "Wha'd'ya want?" My voice was slurred as I tried to speak, my body running on low power mode, though I was able to see who I was dealing with now, so that was a plus.

Juvia, Lucy, and even the woman I had seen in the guild occasionally gripping a large barrel of beer were all standing before me, taking in my wild appearance with wide eyes and dropped jaws. "M-Miss Ember?" Juvia said hesitantly, "Is everything okay?" The others nodded as I sighed; apparently, I looked worse than I thought.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I leaned against the door frame as I continued glaring, sure I was on decent terms with two of these people, but I really was a bear when I didn't get enough sleep. "I'm not letting you in, so what do you want?"

Lucy and Juvia both looked at each other uncertainly, but the third member seemed to have no problem stepping forward with a cocky grin on her face, "We wanted you to join the Miss Fairy Tail Contest with us!" Her voice wasn't squeaky, but rather calm and almost calculating, which put me on guard immediately, "We want to take down Mirajane this year, and we think you could help us do it." 

This Miss Fairy Tail Contest? My scowl deepened as I tried to figure out what they were talking about, "The hell is that?" 

This took all of them by surprise, I'm sure it was a big event, but I purposefully avoided Magnolia around this time of year just because of the Festival that was going on. Crowds and excitement over things that didn't matter were some of the things I hated most, which meant that I could care less about this.

Lucy's eyes just about bulged out of her skull as she realized that I was being serious, "What?! You don't know what this is?" I think my lack of knowledge offended her personally, "How have you not heard of the Miss Fairy Tail Contest?! It's only the most- Mphf!" A hand slipped over her mouth, cutting off what would have likely been a rant on exactly what this thing was and why it was important.

I won't lie, I was grateful to be spared her excitement, but the grin their companion had on her face was more than enough to put me on edge... Whatever she was about to say probably wasn't trustworthy.

"It's nothing too special, just a chance to prove which woman in Fairy Tail is the best. I've noticed that you don't really like Erza or Mira, right?" Slowly I inclined my head, it wasn't that I didn't like them, they were strong people and I respected Erza quite a bit (Squeaky less so. I knew she was hiding something powerful, but I struggled to respect someone who always had a facade up, even around family)...  But that didn't necessarily mean that I _liked_ them either, "Well, both of them will be competing and I think all of us would love to see the two resident champs dethroned."

Slowly I nodded, "You know, I might have been interested in this, but you missed one key thing," I said as Juvia stepped forward her hands clasped and worry shining in her eyes, "I really don't need a competition to tell me I'm a better fighter than them, it's just a fact. If everyone else feels the need to prove themselves to the guild, then more power to them. I have not, nor will I ever feel that need."

I stepped back and grabbed the door, completely ready to shut it in their faces, but Juvia's soft voice stopped me, "Is that why Miss Ember is still a normal wizard rather than an S-classed one?" Damn it, no matter how irritable I was, I couldn't bring myself to snap at Juvia, she was just too pure.

"Well, that's part of the reason," I mumbled, once again running my fingers through my hair as I tried to tug out some of the knots. "But that's not important, I won't participate in this contest, find someone else to take down those two."

Juvia and Lucy both deflated slightly at my answer, but it looked like I hadn't quite convinced the other one, "Ah, that would be okay, but this isn't a conventional battle Ember, it's strategical warfare; you see, Mira wins every year because she is well known to the public," I quirked my eyebrow at that, I had done some research, and the main thing that came up with Mira was the fact that she seemed to be a pin-up model... Was this lady purposefully trying to drive me away now?

"It may be a fact that only one person can win, but if we take Mira off the top this year, it will mean that the tradition will be broken, and men will be more likely to vote for a different person next year as well."

I deadpanned entirely, men were the ones voting, Squeaky was the reigning champion... I knew exactly what kind of contest this was and no amount of wordplay would make me want to join.

Unfortunately, I was pretty sure that she wasn't just going to accept me saying no, even if I said it another dozen times, so I decided to go for the more diplomatic solution (Sometimes I really deserved a medal for how patient I could be), "I refuse, a modeling contest sounds terrible and nothing you say will change my mind." A rebellious look grew on the lady's face so I cut her off, "Even if I did want to join, which I don't, I won't be in town for too much longer. The Rune Knights contacted me to do a job for them, and I'll be leaving soon."

This completely took the wind out of her sails, which is exactly what I was hoping would happen, though both Juvia and Lucy perked up at the sound of that. Dammit, there was no winning with this group, was there?

***

The three women were far harder to get rid of then I had hoped, which meant that by the time they left I was close to needing to leave as well, Laxus' heartbeat (Something that I was surprised to find out that I could pick out from about a mile away because of how familiar I was with him) had entered town again, which meant that I needed to get ready. My gut was telling me that something was close, so I needed to prepare as much as possible if I didn't want to be caught unaware.

I also decided to tell Lahar that I would be there in about a week, just so I would have further evidence in case the girls came back again to try and convince me to join the pin-up competition again. Needless to say, Lahar was confused about why it would take me so long to get there, but he accepted my decision; ignoring the hints I was trying to drop that it would be far more efficient to assign someone else to the job.

Anyways, that led to where I was now, sitting on a hill overlooking Magnolia, watching as Laxus cackled wickedly, his words ringing in my ears, "You Fairies are going to eat each other alive, You hear me?! Your era's coming to an end, Old Man!" 

My bloodlust was rising; how dare he say that... I don't care how butthurt he was about his dad, that didn't give him the right to take it out on the Old Man! I wanted nothing more than to show myself now and challenge him to a fight to settle this, but I couldn't.

He was an asshole, a misguided one at that, but he was my friend still... Someone I respected and would entrust my life to in a heartbeat. 

Challenging him to another fight would help nothing.

He wouldn't learn unless he screwed up so royally that the consequences were almost more than he could bear. 

I hated it, but it was the only way.

Silently as the ghost I was named for, I stood and walked away feeling the tension in my shoulders rise with every step. I wanted nothing more than to stand with Laxus until he learned his lesson as I knew the Thunder God Tribe would, but I couldn't. 

Laxus was on a path that would help him see the error of his ways, but that lesson would come at the expense of the Guild... A guild that I had been gaining respect for over the last month. I didn't want to see them hurt either!

Before long I was lost in the woods, hopefully, I would be able to find my way out before I died, but that wasn't prevalent at the moment. I collapsed to my knees as soon as Laxus' heartbeat was gone as the air around me attempted to suffocate me.

Tomorrow I would have to fight either the Thunder God Tribe or the rest of Fairy Tail, both were my family, both had earned my respect. Either way, I would be betraying someone, either the people who saved me or the man who helped me see what a family could be.

Unfortunately, there was a clear _correct_  side here. I knew that what Laxus was doing was based in selfishness, I simply couldn't side with him under these circumstances.  I wouldn't fight him directly, but that didn't mean I needed to stop myself from helping Fairy Tail... I didn't know what the plan was, but I needed to help Fairy Tail put a stop to it.

Unless the conflict tore me apart first. That was a definite possibility.

The air was still heavy around me, but I forced myself to stand, there was no time to wallow in self-pity, I had work to do... That is... If I could find my way back to town.

***

Dawn touched the sky before I found myself back among civilization, it was the wrong town, clear across the forest... but that was okay, I doubted anything major would happen before noon. Thankfully, the trains were running even at this time, so I hopped aboard one and headed to Gavin's shop as quickly as I could, I couldn't afford to spend much time there, but I was able to clean him out of all his shield lacrima's (Totally ignoring a dark guild master who about died when he saw me come in), before sprinting to the train station once more, praying I would make it back to Magnolia before anything happened.

The towns were all relatively close to each other, so this happened quickly enough, but it was still afternoon by the time I reached Magnolia, and already I could feel a difference about the place. The festival was in full swing, which meant that the crowds were ridiculous, but beyond that, I could feel hints of Freed's magic in the air. 

The whole town had been turned into a web of rune magic that was more than a little concerning, especially since they didn't register me, so I couldn't check to see what the runes were meant for. I would simply have to wait until one of them was tripped to find out, and that bugged me to no end. 

Thankfully, no fighting seemed to be going on just yet, but the closer I got to the guild hall, the more tense things became. Was I making the right decision here? Would it be better to stand with the Thunder God tribe?

No, my mind was made up. That was made even more apparent when I rounded a corner and saw exactly what the idiot spark plug's plan was. He stood up on stage with that cocky grin on his face and the Thunder God Tribe before disappearing in a flash of light, leaving behind the statues of over half the women in Fairy Tail.

He must have already given instructions, because only a second passed before the entire group turned as one and ran, knocking into me slightly as they rushed to get out the door. Panic was etched into all their faces, some even had tears in their eyes as they looked back to the girls, ignoring me entirely in favor of leaving to fulfill whatever twisted plan Laxus had in store for them.

They were terrified, that much was obvious, but me? I was pissed. My hands clenched at my sides as my hair overshadowed my eyes. He was holding the girls' hostage? 

How utterly despicable.

I forced myself to remember that I wasn't allowed to fight him, it would do no good besides, of course, helping me to feel a lot better. My feet moved numbly towards the stage as I ignored everything else that was going on around me, moving until I reached the stage. A hand rested on my elbow but I shook it off, choosing instead to jump up onto the platform and walk to the statues. 

Most of these women had done nothing wrong besides wanting to participate in a beauty pageant. I could feel my magic flaring up, but for just a moment I didn't care. How dare he do something this stupid, he would regret this... Hopefully not too much though.

"Ember!" Whoever had been trying to get my attention finally broke through to my consciousness, causing me to turn. The Old Man, Black Steel, and even the pink haired idiot were all standing in front of me, watching with some trepidation. 

The old man, in particular, seemed to be staring at me with quite a bit of solemnity, "Ember, did you know about this?" Normally, I would probably have been offended, but with how close I was to the aggressors it made some sense to question me.

"I did," My voice wavered as I fought to stop my powers from breaking free, "But I wasn't certain. I knew they had been planning something, but... I had no idea it would be this big. I'm sorry Master."

This whole situation was terrible, how dare they do this, "Old Man," I said quietly looking up only to see him watching me with determination in his eyes, "I can't fight Laxus."

That cut right through the tense atmosphere. Now all three were looking at me with dropped jaws as the color began to leech from them, perhaps they had been expecting me to swoop in and save the day.

The Old Man's jaw was moving but no sound came out. If this weren't such a serious situation, I would probably have laughed at their expressions, but I was serious right now.

"But... But... Ember?" Yeah, I definitely broke him, "You need to fight him, please? You're the only one here who could beat him."

I could feel the offense that both the pink haired idiot and Black Steel were giving off, their inflated egos seemed to take a swan dive off a proverbial cliff as the Old Man basically admitted that they weren't strong enough to face Laxus.

Oh they were good for entertainment if nothing else, "Sorry, but both Laxus and I know that I can beat him, I've done it several times before, so if I beat him now it will change nothing. He'll view it as nothing more than another sparing match that may have dinged his pride but, in the end, changed nothing."

The fact that I had beaten Laxus before was nothing new to the Old Man, he had even been present for several of our fights, but the other two looked about ready to fade from existence at this new bit of information. They were probably going into information overload with everything that had been happening.

Slowly the Old Man nodded before sighing heavily, "I understand that Ember, I truly do, but this has gone beyond our own preferences, Laxus has crossed a line and if he isn't stopped, I fear that he will do irreparable damage. You can stop him, I know that, so it is your duty to help us."

Black clashed with red as I shot a glare that was just as steely as his was, "Sorry Old Man, but I won't fight him, have faith in your people, but I will not fight against someone who helped to save me. I can go to Evergreen and get her to release these girls, I'll even go talk to the Spark Plug, but that is all I will do when it comes to the Thunder God Tribe. Do you understand?"

I looked behind me to the statues, namely the statues of the three girls who came to my door to try and get me to participate in this ridiculous event. "This is for you," I muttered, too quietly for even the dragon slayers to hear before I hopped off the stage and began walking casually towards the door.

"Wait!" The pink haired idiot called out from behind me, forcing a sigh from my mouth as I looked over my shoulder at him, "I want to fight Laxus, he's mine, got it?!" 

"No, he's mine!" Black Steel just had to choose that moment to interject, didn't he? Tension began brewing between the two as they glared at each other.

With a heavy sigh, I walked up to the two and slammed my fists down on their heads, sending them crashing to the ground as the cement cracked under them, "Would you two shut up already, I don't care who fights him, but I'm entrusting the idiotic Spark Plug to you two, think you can handle that without fighting?"

The only response I received was faint moans from the ground below me, "Shouldn't you be telling us to not hurt your loverboy too much," Came the garbled voice of Black Steel, who seemed to be having trouble seeing straight; though, in that moment I was 100% ready to make sure he never saw straight again...

Instead, I settled for reaching down and grabbing him by the collar, before pulling him up till his face was an inch from mine, "Call him that again and I will ensure that you won't leave the infirmary until Porlyusica gets a hold of you, do you understand?" He nodded meekly, his eyes wide with a newly realized terror. I dropped him with a cold look in my eyes, "Good, and I didn't tell you to not hurt him too much because I don't need to."

"I'll eat my swords if you can hurt him worse than he'll hurt you."


	29. Breaking Boundaries

Sorry this is late guys... It's been a bit chaotic, here, but here I am with a longer chapter! 

~~~~~~~~~~

Going through town was an enlightening experience in and of itself, all around me were groups of people, all of whom were chatting happily as they watched Fairy Tail fight. Apparently, they were under the impression that Fairy Tail was putting on some kind of performance with their fighting. It was a good thing that the general public wasn't panicking, but I couldn't help but wince at the amount of property damage that was being done in the fights.

Sure, Freed was a genius when it came to runes, but could he not have been a bit more aware of the houses when he was setting this up? The bill that the guild would receive when this was over would be horrendous...There were definitely those who were entirely invested in this, as was made evident by all the smashed rooves that were scattered around the city.

Never in my life had I been happier to not be affected by Freed's magic, I was able to walk through the fights entirely unnoticed, except for the situations where it became apparent that citizens were likely to get hurt.

The shield lacrimas I had bought at Gavin's were already running low because I was placing them in area's that seemed to have a high amount of damage being done. I needed to find Ever and quickly because once I did that Laxus would lose his hostages... Not that it would stop him from continuing with this hairbrained plan, but it would allow Fairy Tail to stop fighting each other for a few minutes.

Ever's blood was just as easy to track as Laxus' was, in fact, I could sense where the entirety of the Thunder God Tribe was with pinpoint accuracy. The urge to just grab the blood and pull it was still prominent, but I was beginning to appreciate this new sense; overpowering or not, it was extremely useful. 

Laxus' POV

I lounged against a pillar as Freed and I watched the outcomes of the fights, a smirk lifting my lips as I saw the outcomes of mini-battles, "Just like I thought, they really are tearing each other apart, this is almost too easy." My thoughts were less than pure as I chuckled maniacally, "The old man should be giving in at any minute."

A heavy sigh caused me to look over at Freed with scorn, "What? Do you have something to add?"Quickly I pushed off the pillar and stalked towards the magic display, glaring scornfully at Freed, who seemed to be doubting something, "Don't tell me you're getting cold feet?"

Once again Freed signed, but this time he shook his head, "No sir, that isn't it.." He faded off as he cast a look at me, making my scowl deepen, "I simply think that you shouldn't be so quick to claim victory; after all, Ember could be out there and we have no way of knowing... I think we both know she'll be against us in this."

Coal head... I would have asked her to join our fight when we fought a week ago, but the way she looked at me was unsettling. Perhaps it was because I knew just how serious she was about protecting those she respected, but the look in her eyes when we fought was different in a way I had never seen before.

' If your plan does anything to hurt the guild, I will destroy you before forcing you to apologize to the old man.'

I could feel my hands tightening as her words invaded my thoughts, did she really think she could make me do anything? No matter what I had to do, I would prove her wrong, in the end, she would be the one lying beaten before me. I would make sure of it.

"You don't have to worry too much about Ember, she showed up briefly before wandering off into the woods last night, I wouldn't be surprised if she was still wandering around lost." That drew his attention right too me a small glint of worry flashing across his face, all of us were fully aware of just how terrible Ember's sense of direction was. In fact, more than once we had to rescue her from her terrible sense of direction.

That's how things always went, they had been saving her for years, but that didn't mean she was weak. I wouldn't have let her stick around for so long if she couldn't hold her own, it seemed that for every time we saved her, she helped us out, even after she split from the main group. At that thought, something lapped at my heart, a pressure that I simply didn't care to look too deeply into because it would only be a distraction.

Freed cleared his throat, pulling me out of my inner world, "Fortunately, it seems like that isn't the case," He gestured to a fight that just ended, between two of the guild members, instead of the typical 'win/lose' that appeared above the names, this time both of them sported a 'forfeit' with no apparent reason for the ruling, "Ember must have gotten involved, which would have thrown the rune system for a loop, since it wouldn't have been able to detect the reason both people to drop out so suddenly. Forfeit must simply be the explanation it came up with."

My mind raced, so Ember was here, was she? This could pose a problem with the battle because we all knew that she could beat all three of the Thunder God Tribe in combat without even trying... I highly doubted that the three of them combined could overpower her.

My sharp upper teeth dug into my lip as I considered the situation, as much as I wanted to, Ember was a problem I simply couldn't ignore... "Just leave Coal Head to me, got it?" I barked out, glancing at Freed, "Tell Evergreen and Bickslow as well, if any of you come across her, you need to retreat. am I understood? I  can't afford to lose you guys to her when there's still so much that needs to be done"

I could see the apprehension that had been growing in Freed's eyes recede slightly as he nodded and walked away, his posture stiff, militarial almost, which left me alone with my thoughts. Ember was here, which meant that we would certainly fight... At this moment she was the biggest threat to my plans, and although I was stronger than I had been, it was obvious that she was too. Despite the fact that we had fought over a thousand times throughout the years, I still had to question myself...

Could I really beat her?

 

Ember's POV

Two of the idiots dropped to the ground unconscious as I finished smashing them together, they had gotten far too close to the public so I decided to step in and take them both out. It wasn't the first time I had done this, and I doubted that it would be the last, Fairy Tail just didn't know how to hold back, which was a virtue and a headache in the same breath.

Unfortunately, that quality of their's had been leading to the atmosphere around town changing, instead of curiosity mixed with irritation, I was starting to see real fear bubbling up in the eyes of the townspeople. They could tell that something wasn't right with this 'festival entertainment' which meant that it was even more important for me to quit stalling and actually find Ever, though... I really didn't want to do this.

I had fought against Ever only three times throughout the years, but this was so much different; I didn't want to fight her when there was so much at stake, just the idea of it left a bitter taste in my mouth. That didn't mean I had a choice though.

I smiled out at the crowd who were all staring at me with dropped jaws before I ran towards the nearest wall and jumped, catching the roof and pulling myself up. I could sense that Ever was nearby but above ground, which meant that my flashy exit was not only the best way to gain myself some attention, it was also the most practical.

As I ran along the roof feeling like a total badass, I couldn't help but admire just how good of a plan this was. Not only was Laxus weeding out the weak by forcing everyone to fight,  he also was handily breaking several long-established bonds in one move. This would be a good test of Fairy Tail's commitment to family. 

Not that I was too terribly worried, there were enough people who shared the pink-haired idiot's beliefs on family to help the guild get through this.

Out of the corner of my eye, I couldn't help but notice a state of the giant man I had helped pull along during the Phantom Lord battle. He must have tried to fight Ever, that petrification magic of hers really was something.

As I jumped past the statue, Ever's presence disappeared, only to pop back up right above me. Instinctively, I sprang out of the way just in time to see the roof of the building explode, "Hey Ever, watch out, do you really want to make the bill we'll be getting after this is done even higher than it already is?" My voice held no small amount of exasperation as I looked up in the air at her, a hand propped on my hip and my over hand in from of my eyes to shield them from the sun.

"Why would I care?" She was barely visible, due to the bright sun that was directly behind her, but I knew from experience that she was rolling her eyes at me.

A sweet smile touched my face, which was something that I knew was more disturbing to her than my scowl, "Well, I thought you would have realized," I slowly began to tense my muscles as I waited for the perfect time to spring, "The old man will definitely be taking a portion of the repair costs out of your shopping money.

Her offended gasp was all I needed to know I had gotten to her, "Excuse me?" Before she could say anything else, I struck, my magic fueled jump reached where she was still hovering as I pulled her into a headlock and allowed gravity to pull me back to the ground.

Ever's wings attempted to keep us aloft, but they failed, seeing as how I weighed significantly more than she did.

The building below us trembled slightly at out landing, but I wasn't concerned with that, my attention was on Ever, who had pulled away and was looking at me rather nervously, "You seriously think Makarov is going to remain the Master of Fairy Tail? Laxus has been planning this for months, he's more determined than I think I've ever seen him, which is saying something." She took another step towards the edge of the building, "Sorry Ember, but Freed told me to retreat if you came after me... I should go."

Unfortunately for her, I was faster and I had a solid, grounding grip on her arm before her wings could even take form again, "It's funny that you thought you could get away from me, though it was a smart idea to retreat, you might have actually been able to stay away from me for more than a minute. How about we have a chat Ever? Just you and me."

Her face paled significantly as her wings reflected the agitation by fluttering weakly, "What... What would we have to talk about?" I didn't even need to answer that, the blank look I shot her conveyed the message well enough, "O-okay... We'll talk."

I grinned at her before tugging her away from the edge, "I won't lie, normally I wouldn't look for you guys, we both know I could take you down in a heartbeat and my main beef is with the Spark Plug for coming up with the plan in the first place. This time, however, you placed yourself in a bad position by taking hostages, which means that you painted the target that is prominently on your back right now; I have to say Ever, that wasn't your smartest move."

She immediately looked away from me at that, "I know... I wasn't my idea."

My heart clenched at the shame-filled look that filled her eyes, now I just had one more thing to beat Laxus up for later. He had a group that would follow him to the ends of the earth willingly, no matter how bad the consequences could be, yet he still treated them like crap. It pissed me off probably more than him hurting the rest of the guild did.

Despite everything that was willing me to run to where Laxus was and beat the crap out of him, I forced myself to relax my muscles and lift a hand to drop on Ever's head gently, ruffling her hair, "Of course it wasn't your idea, only the Spark Plug could come up with something this incredibly stupid." Once again Ever looked at me, but this time there was hope in her eyes, "Sadly, that does leave us in a bit of a bind."

The hope vanished and in an instant the guarded Ever was back, nodding resolutely, "Either you forfeit and release the girls from their petrification or we fight and I force you to release the girls, either way, you will release them and I will win."

We stared at each other for a solid twenty seconds as we sized each other up before Ever lost the serious look with a snort, "Heh, that's a funny joke, like I could ever beat you in any form of fighting, I honestly prefer not to be slaughtered by you..." I returned her grin wholeheartedly, she may be a bit overconfident in a lot of things, but stupid she was not. "I forfeit, don't worry, I'll release the spell."

A set of runes flashed over Ever's head, announcing that she was 'Disqualified,' in large purple letters. In the same moment, an odd sensation pressed against my mind, it was as though a taut string had just been cut and the recoil was echoing around me in waves. I blinked slowly, trying to understand what just happened.

"-Fight Laxus now?" Ever, thankfully, didn't notice my momentary lapse in concentration and continued talking, pulling me out of my head.

"What?" I asked, feeling as though her voice was reaching me through deep water, what was going on?

"Are you okay Ember?" Instead of reasking her question, Ever was looking at me in concern, "You look pale... Well, paler than normal."

Was I okay? I honestly had no answer to that, as the simple act of feeling the string snap had thrown me for a major loop, "Yeah, I'm fine, just tired... I think, what did you say?"

The look Ever threw me was far from being convinced, but she continued, "Are you going to fight Laxus now?"

Once again, it took me a moment to get my bearings and figure out why I would be fighting Laxus, but thankfully I recover more quickly this time, "No, I... I plan on talking to him and try to talk him out of going through this stupid plan, but fighting him wouldn't help the situation."

She looked confused, but my sudden mental absence made me reluctant to continue, "This is something Fairy Tail needs to do." I muttered before I stood and shook my head again, trying to get rid of the feeling of being stuck underwater. My abrupt shift in demeanor caught Ever off guard as she watched me walk away with a worried look on her face.

I could still feel Laxus' blood flowing around me as I made my way towards the source, only slightly unsteady. The origin was in the center of the city, but that only took up a small portion of my brain as I walked through the city in a daze. What was it about feeling that string that got me so... scrambled?

It happened at the same time Ever was disqualified and I could feel the fact that it originated from her, so I knew it was more than just a reaction to Freed's magic. The only guess I had was the fact that that had to have happened at the same time that Ever dropped her petrification spell. But Why? 

I've been around them when they were using magic, even after my blood magic came roaring back I'd been around them as they used spells, so what was different?

Unfortunately, my hazy brain didn't want to function as I arrived at the place where Laxus' blood was originating from before I could come to a conclusion. My thoughts had cleared up slightly, so I wasn't too terribly worried, but that didn't mean the sensation wouldn't come back... if it came again in the middle of a battle, then that could spell some major trouble for me.

The origin of Laxus' blood was at a place I was relatively familiar with, Kardia Cathedral, a place that we had used as a base when we were younger and playing our war games. Before I could even enter, an odd sensation began to surround me, a pressure on my chest that I simply shrugged off. If I actively paid attention to all the weird crap that was happening to me today, then I would be left paralyzed, unable to do anything.

The door creaked slightly as I slid it open, but that didn't seem to disturb the Spark Plug who was alone inside, cackling wickedly, "I bet you Fairy's think you're safe now that you have the hostages back, but just you wait, soon you'll be clawing at each other's throats to hand control over to me, then all you weaklings will be gone!" I was irritated the first time I heard him talking like this, but now I was just irritated.

"I thought you knew that you had to be stroking a cat while you divulge your evil plan to empty air." I remarked dryly, slipping inside, "And it helps if you have a swivel chair as well, otherwise this whole cliched villain thing just doesn't work."

Thankfully, that cut him off mid-chuckle as he swung around to face me, "What the hell are you talking about, coal head?" Lightning crackled around him as we glowered at each other.

"Isn't it obvious?" I shrugged, not allowing my voice to reflect how truly angry I was, "Jellal and Jose tried to do the whole villain monologue thing as well, but I promise that it doesn't work without the cat and swivel chair. You just end up sounding like a pompous asshole without them." 

He shook his head angrily as he swept his cloak from covering his arms in an unnecessarily dramatic manner, "Are you really calling me a villain, Coal head? I thought you of all people would have been able to see past the opinions of everyone else in the guild."

Ah, so there really was a part of him that thought he was doing the right thing, was there?

My hands dropped to settle comfortably on the pommel of my sword, the door shutting behind me with a final-sounding clunk, "Oh, I'm not here because of what anyone else thinks, I'm here because what you're doing is wrong and I'm sick of watching you throw your temper tantrums when things don't go your way. You're dragging everyone else into your daddy issues, so I would appreciate it if you would stop."

There was a threat behind my words that I knew he could hear, though the only effect was him bristling in more way than one, "You really want to piss me off, don't you? I don't know why I thought you would be on my side with this."

He seemed to be gearing up for a fight, but I couldn't help but grin wryly, "I don't know either, I'm certainly not as compliant as the Thunder God Tribe is towards you."

"Have you seriously not noticed how weak our guild has gotten? It's pathetic!" He practically shouted, apparently being pushed to the edge by my lack of understanding.

I took another step towards him as I answered, "No, I think I've mentioned before that I find their dedication to each other admirable trait, why would I side with you when your main reason for being mad came from the bars you frequent... Which, may I add, says more about your alcoholism than it does about Fairy Tail."

"Raging Bolt!" He yelled, sending a blistering attack my way. 

I think I may have struck a nerve.

It seemed that talking would get me nowhere, so I jumped towards a window that wasn't too far away, "Just so you know, when you've been defeated by the 'weak fairies' as you call them, come talk to me. I have something to tell you, and I promise it won't be I told you so."

With that, I made my hasty exit, leaving just as another bolt of lightning flew over my head, along with the receding sounds of his cursing.

***

As I made my way back towards the guild I couldn't help but feel a little high strung. Laxus wasn't one to make empty threats, so I certainly believed him when he said that he wasn't done just yet. As scary as it was, it probably had something to do with the threads of power I could feel becoming more apparent by the minute... 

My brain still wasn't functioning at 100%, so no matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't figure out what would be causing this feeling meant, and before I could even reach the guild hall, it became apparent that I couldn't afford to think about this any longer. 

The first indication that something was wrong happened to be the strings becoming taut, to the point of nearly snapping. I could feel the strain they were under as though the strings were in me, an odd feeling to be sure, though things swiftly went downhill after that.

My breathing grew ragged as the strings, which seemed to be situated throughout the city, rose in the air like bullets. It was a good thing that no one was around when this happened, because when it did I collapsed to the ground as the strength was leeched from my muscles.

I tried to control my breathing, but despite that my vision went red, my magic reacting to whatever was happening.

For a moment, I could feel the blood in my veins change direction, causing my whole body to stiffen, similarly to how it had when I was frozen by the celestial spirit king. I couldn't move, I couldn't see, and for a moment, I couldn't breathe either.

Panic filled me as I struggled, but just as quickly as it started, the feeling vanished and feeling slowly returned to my limbs.

I gasped, shaking uncontrollably as I continued to lie on the ground... What was that?

"Ember?!" A panicked voice called out, one that I was sure I could recognize if my mind were in a better place, but as it was, I was lucky to recognize my name. The call of blood filled me prominently as this new person approached and without thinking...

I instinctively grabbed at the heartbeat.

Whoever it was gasped slightly before their body came completely under my control, leaving them defenseless for a moment before another heartbeat literally popped into existence beside the first, but I was to recognize what was happening.

Red tinged my vision of the ground as I savored the feeling of the blood under my control, it was familiar, like an old friend, it reminded me of something... Something warm and powerful... Something heady.

A small amount of blood touched my nose and I inhaled it greedily, it tasted so good, just as it did back then.

...More...

I

Wanted

More

.

.

.

Before I could grab on to that sensation further and fulfill the carnal desire, a blast of light hit me, throwing me all the way down the street. This woke me up as I was forced to right myself so I could land without being injured. The red disappeared from my vision as I looked up only to see an irate Lion standing over me.

"How dare you attack Lucy, I thought you were on our side?" He seethed, but all I could do was blink at him, unsure of what he even meant.

Attack Lucy? Why would I do that? The feeling of something sticky dripping down my chin caught my attention and I jerked away as my eyes widened. My hand flew to my mouth and I wiped myself before staring in horror at the red that covered my hand.

Once again my breathing began to speed up as I fumbled with the satchel around my waist, searching for the potion Porlyusica had given me. I just about lost control again, and it was because of something I didn't understand.

As steadily as my legs would allow, I stood, still completely out of it as I looked around frantically for my would-be victim. "Is she alive?" I croaked out, my voice sounding as though I had just been gargling gravel as I took a large gulp of the potion.

The Lion was still standing to the side, glaring viciously at me, "Why do you want to know, are you looking to finish her off?" 

Thankfully, I spotted her about twenty feet away, leaning against a wall as she stared at me. The Lion moved to get between us, which was totally understandable, my actions were unforgivable.

Without another thought, I dipped into a low bow, not even trying to conceal how badly I was trembling. The look Amber had sent me before she died swimming at the forefront of my mind... It almost happened again... 

"I... I'm so sorry Lucy," I said quickly, still immersed in the memories. Thankfully, the potion had kicked back in and my senses were now dulled slightly. 

I could feel both the Lion and Lucy staring at me as I remained in my bow, my eyes were frozen in a wide open position, but I didn't pay attention to that. A slightly stumbling footstep approached, completely ignoring the Lion's protests, "What was that?" 

Lucy's voice was quiet but there was no mistaking the concern that was hidden in there as well, "Was that your magic? I don't think I've seen... or felt anything like it before."

Why wasn't she running away from me right now? I could have killed her, she should be running away! I nodded my head, still in the low bow as I struggled to prevent myself from hyperventilating, not trusting myself to speak.

The lion seemed to share my distrust as I could feel his heartbeat right behind Lucy, he was tense, ready to pull her away if need be. "You don't have to bow Ember, look, I'm not even bleeding anymore, it's okay."

I still couldn't bring myself to stand up even as my nails broke the skin of my palm. It wasn't until the Lion seemingly became fed up with me, "Enough. We can't stay here anymore Lucy, let's go before she decides to attack you again."

That caused an involuntary flinch to tear through me even as a hand landed on my shoulder, "Stop it Loke, we can go when we make sure she's okay."

Knowing that she was willing to stick around until I stood up was the motivation I needed to stand. "Don't worry about me..." I faded off as I looked at the Lion, who was still scowling at me, "Thanks for snapping me out of that." I muttered before seeing a small orb behind him.

"Wait, what's that?" My question caused Lucy to grimace as she stared over my shoulder, causing me to realize that the whole city was encircled by the orbs... Wait... the strings, these were all connected to the strings.

"It's Laxus' Thunder Palace," Lucy said with obvious distaste in her voice, "He's threatening the Master that if he doesn't hand the guild over to him in the next hour he'll set it off and destroy the city."

Before she even finished speaking I froze, I knew Laxus was determined, but this... This was too far. He was going to regret this forever if he went through with it. This passed the boundary of what I was willing to allow.

There had to be something I could do.


	30. The Battle of Fairy Tail

My breathing was ragged as I dodged down another alleyway, I was almost to a safe place, one where I could do as Porlyusica recommended and use my magic. Seeing Laxus' Thunder Palace brought forward unpleasant memories, ones of the havoc I wreaked in my youth... There was no way I would allow that idiotic Spark Plug to land himself in deep with those kinds of regrets.

To know that you caused so much harm to people you cared about is a terrible thing, one that has the ability to weigh you down and paralyze you.

That's what led me to the edge of starvation after I came too all those years ago... Not only did I not know how to fend for myself, I didn't feel that I deserved to live. If I had been even the least bit clever, I probably would have offed myself before I could continue on to become an assassin.

No, it took my mentors finding me on the edge of death in a gutter for me to turn around, and even then it was about another year before I allowed myself to believe that I shouldn't be dead... That was the last thing I wanted Laxus to face, even if he did deserve a good thrashing for this ridiculous stunt.

To be completely honest, I had only a vague idea of what I should do now. I needed to do something, that wasn't even a question, but I couldn't do anything without my magic and I only knew one or two commands for my magic so I was a tad bit limited...

Unless of course, I experimented with commands, which could be a potentially bad idea, and yes, bad is a major understatement for what would happen if I lost control.

Lucy had chased me for a little bit after I ran off, but thankfully she wasn't able to keep up with me, so now I was finally reaching an area devoid of heartbeats nearby. That was my only decent idea, keeping my distance from everyone to prevent the blood lust from taking over; it was far from a foolproof plan, but it was better than nothing right now.

I could feel my hands shaking violently as I reached for one of my smaller knives, this one anchored in the base of my ponytail. It was one of the few that wasn't coated with a sedative, so I wouldn't put myself to sleep doing this. My teeth began to grind together as I drew the blade carefully across my arm, careful to not cut too deep as familiar sensation coursed through me, the pain of the cut, along with the euphoric feeling of blood pushing against my subconscious.

Without even thinking, I began to control the blood, causing it to spill down into my palm and coat my hand completely, like a glove. Seeing as how this was my own blood, I had no desire to ingest this, but just the feeling of the blood swirling around my hand filled me with the desire to feel more, to control more blood than this. I wanted it so badly.

As quickly as the thought came I chomped down on my tongue, forcing myself to return to the moment and avoid the temptation. I remained centered on the ever-expanding layer of blood coating my hand, allowing it to grow until you could no longer see my individual fingers and there was nothing more than swirling orb of blood attached to my arm.

Just as I was beginning to feel light-headed I reached an amount that would probably be good for this job. "Blood control..." I trailed off before I could continue the spell, trying to build my courage a just a little bit higher, "Blood control: Coagulate."

Immediately I hissed and doubled over, careful to not let the blood I was controlling out of my grip as the blood that had been pouring from my cut hardened. It felt as though needles were being jabbed into my skin as it expanded to probably twice the size it had been only a moment before.

Step one was completed without blowing myself, or everyone else, up... It was time to move on.

I focused on the blood that was still liquid swirling around my hand, this is where the experimenting would begin, I remembered the basics of what I was trying to do, so I would have to see if I could find the right words, "Blood control: Evaporate."

As soon as those words left my mouth the Blood Club™ evaporated, and the entire alleyway was immersed in red as my blood was spread into miniscule particles that were still under my control. That was necessary because if I didn't separate it as far as I did, the Blood Club™ would become one giant trap that would devour anything in its path. 

So far, so good, no bloody chaos was erupting, "Blood Control: Predator."

The magic began to drain from me at an alarming rate as I said that, the blood lust inside me rattling at the bars of its cage, but that was it. The red-hued alleyway deepened in color as each of the particles widened slightly. Now that that was done, I could send the blood to coat a target, or in this case, all targets with the same blood pattern, and either add my magic to it, siphon magic away, or even have some control over what that the target did, depending on how much of this blood attached to it. At least... That was the goal.

With this amount, I had enough to literally swallow a person whole if I did the spell right, which was up for debate... However, that was not my goal; thankfully, I was familiar enough with Laxus and his blood that my vague and possibly suicidal plan had a shot of working.

The sudden drain on my magic and blood had already weakened me so I focused on the strings, the only accurate way I could think of to target the little balls of death and destruction that were hanging in the sky. "Predator: Hunt."

Thankfully, it seemed as though my hasty words were enough to convey what I wanted, as the red haze completely disappeared from the air around me, minus the red that naturally saturated my vision. It really was a miracle that that worked, but perhaps that meant that the things I learned as a child weren't as forgotten as I thought.

Now it was time to wait, it was odd to feel what the blood was doing, a small place in the back of my mind alerted me to the fact that a few of the particles had already attached to the closer targets. It would take time for all of them to find something to affix to but until then...

I staggered slightly as I took a step forward, unprepared for the wave of lightheadedness that overcame me before adjusting. This was nothing compared to some of the crap I had been through, so I forced myself to keep walking towards the Cathedral once more.

Perhaps it wasn't the best idea, seeing as how I still didn't want to fight Laxus, but if my plan worked the way I wanted it to, I was in for a world of hurt and being at the guild would only cause worry. Especially for the Old Man who always seemed to know when I was in trouble or had somehow brought trouble on myself.

The further I went, the faster my legs began to move all on their own, as though they sensed the urgency that hit me every time one of the blood traps hit their targets. I needed to try again, surely something would get through to him, when we talked before I barely tried, I needed to do more... Maybe, just maybe, I would be able to help him understand. I had to try.

Trees and houses all began to blur together as my augmented speed kicked in, sending me hurtling towards the Cathedral at a speed faster than most eyes could follow. Another heartbeat was in the building with him, but it certainly wasn't anyone I knew, though it was familiar in an odd way. I didn't have time to think about that though, as I slammed through the doors at the same high speed, ramming into a blue blur in front of me and sending us both to the ground.

"Oh, what's this? Have you decided to be on my side after all?" Laxus' irritatingly smug voice echoed through the room as I tried to decode why I was on the ground like this... 

Finally, my brain caught up with my body, and I looked around only to see a large, cloaked figure that I was unfamiliar with wrapped slightly around a large pillar that had several cracks in it. The dust that was just billowing up into the air painted a generous picture of what had just happened, along with the fact that there were several staves lying near me that likely belonged to the dazed man. I must have slammed into him and interrupted him in the middle of a spell, which would explain a good majority of Spark Plug's smugness.

A curse surged past my lips as I jumped to my feet and ran over to the stunned stranger, "No you fucking idiot," I spat before leaning down, "I came back to talk and forget to watch where I was going." As quickly as I could, I attempted to assess the physical state of the mystery person, though that was made rather difficult by the amount of material that was covering him. The only thing I could recognize was the fact that he was bleeding. 

Something about him was familiar to me, I had researched him before as well as felt his blood. Normally I could pinpoint different blood signatures for years after only tasting them once, but this one seemed almost... Mixed with another, as though two different types of blood were combined. 

When I attempted to touch the cap of this mystery person, a hand slapped me away, sending me staggering back several feet, "I am fine, please leave this well enough alone ma'am." His voice was even more familiar, which led to me staring at him in shock as he pushed himself to his feet, names have never been my strong suit, but faces, and voices, were things I never forgot. 

He squared off against Laxus again, but I couldn't pay attention to that right now, my main focus was taken by the fact that he sounded a bit like an old headache that I had just finished dealing with. There was no way he was Jellal... It wasn't possible.

Believe me, I wasn't saying that simply because I didn't want it to be him, or that I didn't understand how it could be him, but because it literally wasn't possible. I had gotten a taste of Jellal's blood both before and after Manipubitch's control on him, so even just the scent of this guy's blood was enough to cue me in on the major differences.

For one, there was a tang to it that I had only tasted once before... Wait.

"Back to what we were talking about before we were interrupted, just how do you know who I am?" This man pulled me back to the moment just by the venom in his voice alone, this was a touchy subject for him, and yet I couldn't help but feel guilty for some reason.

Laxus began cackling, drawing both of our attention, as yet another image of him stroking a cat while cackling invaded my mind... I maintained my opinion from earlier, he was just missing something without that.

"Well, it's a good thing that Coal Head here interrupted us when she did, because she's the reason I know who you are, and more importantly, where you're from." He leaned in close he mocked this guy, leaving me to look between them in confusion.

I cued him in? When did I do that? I really didn't remember anything about this guy, except the way his blood smells, and that was a rather distant connection.

My confusion must have been obvious as both men turned to look at me, but I refused to give up, "Spark Plug, what the hell are you even talking about? I don't think I've ever seen him before, so how does it make sense for me to know that info? I don't even know who this guy is in the first place!"

A long-suffering sigh was my response as Laxus sent me the most patronizing look he could muster, "Oh really? Think hard Coal Head, I know that's difficult for you to do, but just try for a moment to remember the people you researched when you first joined."

I scowled in return for his words, of course I remembered the reports, that took up a good year of scrounging for information in my free time as I made sure the people at Fairy Tail were safe to be around. It was a pain in my ass because a lot of the members back then were older, which meant they had more experiences they had to sift through. "Do you really expect me to remember one specific report you dim wit?" I snapped avoiding the heavy stare of the unknown man, "I did over a hundred of those."

"True," The Spark Plug conceded, "But there was only one that referenced another world, I think the nickname you gave him at the time was pseudo something or another."

That was all I needed, "Pseudo prick?" I asked, gaining a sarcastically approving nod from the moody Spark Plug, that's right, I was to blame for Laxus knowing about that. I glanced at The new guy who I was just going to call Jellal 2.0 since his name was already stuck in my head, "Alright, I suppose I may have had something to do with this idiot finding out, I ran into someone else from your world before I was in Fairy Tail and made the connection. Before I could burn your file, this idiot decided to snoop. I suppose I'm sorry."

The look Jellal 2.0 sent me was horrified, no doubt he thought that he had been so much sneakier than that. To be fair to him, it's likely that his secret would have been safe if I didn't have my specific set of abilities that automatically outed him to me. "We... We need to talk," He murmured before turning back to the highly amused Laxus.

"It seems I struck a nerve," Laxus sneered before he looked between the two of us, "Now, are you here to fight me, or will you two continue shooting the breeze while your time to defeat me runs out?"

This wiped any form of humor from my face, "You know I won't fight you, even though I really want to knock you down a peg, or twenty." I quickly looked to Jellal 2.0 before sighing heavily, "You don't have to listen to me, but you really shouldn't fight him either, it would just be another sparring match to him if he loses to someone else he sees as being on his level. He will learn nothing."

Both men looked at me oddly for a moment before Jellal 2.0 pulled his remaining staves out before throwing them so they stuck in the ground and preparing to fight, "Yeah, no, it's okay, don't listen to me." I grumbled before turning away, these two idiots could deal with this on their own, I had something far more important to take care of.

The last of the blood traps had affixed to the Thunder Palace while we were talking, which meant that it was time for stage two of my plan, on that the Old Man would likely kill me for even thinking of carrying out.

I certainly needed to be careful with what I was doing before, but if I did this wrong I could end up giving all of my power to the batteries, which would make their explosions in the end far worse than they would originally have been. There was also a chance that I could set them off now as well which... well... I don't think I need to explain why that would be bad.

Both of the men fighting before me had ridiculously good senses, so I had to do this carefully, or they would probably realize something was up. My mind whirled as I stepped away from the fight, only far enough away to be behind a pillar, completely ignoring the giant blast of wind that blew out all the windows, this was nothing too extreme when it came to Laxus fighting.

"Predator:" I started the spell but quickly stopped, as a wave of indecision swept through me. It may seem like I was doing well with this whole, 'making up spells as I go' thing, but what you won't be seeing is the agonizing I have done before and after each spell. This was crap I didn't want to get into again, what if I killed someone... Or everyone? 

This wasn't the time to be hesitating, I probably had less than thirty seconds to do this before they were done the fighting. "Predator: Active... no, Passive Drain."

Once again my magic level dipped, which sent a wave of relief through me as my sensitivity plummeted along with it. My plan should be complete now, that portion of the spell made it so the instant the Thunder Palace was activated, part of each orb's magic would be transferred to me... Likely in the form of an electrical shock, which would come as an extremely unpleasant surprise.

Apparently, I missed a lot in those few seconds of being behind the pillar, because when I came out, I saw a stunned Jellal 2.0 who had no face cover staring at an equally stunned Erza and a mildly ticked off Pink Haired Idiot... Was it too late to retreat? Because this was drama I didn't want to deal with.

Laxus was standing aside, watching this happen with a self-satisfied smirk on his face, which forced me to pull another knife out of my shirt before throwing it at him with pinpoint accuracy. It struck his ever-present headphones, nearly severing one side, "You don't have to look so smug, you idiot. None of us wanted any more drama in our lives because of your shit, but you just had to let the cat out of the bag, didn't you?"

Deciding that enough was enough, I stepped over to Jellal 2.0, "I know this looks bad, but he isn't Jellal, for now just trust that he's on your side."

Both Erza and Natsu cast me disbelieving looks at that... I mean, I may have earned them to some extent, but that didn't make it any less frustrating, "Fine, don't believe me, but we'll be going now, won't we... Um..." I faded off awkwardly, realizing that the only nickname I had for him would make Erza more suspicious than she already was.

Thanfully, it seemed that Jellal 2.0 had picked up on how badly I was floundering as he walked over to me, "She's correct, I am not the person you believe me to be. Now, we need to talk." And with that the Cathedral was gone, replaced by a field that I recognized to be just outside of Magnolia.

Of course, the beautiful view was ruined by a sharp looking, wooden staff that was shoved in her face harshly, "How do you know about me?" Jellal 2.0 practically hissed, no preamble, no fluff. It really was nice in a way.

A sweet smile edged at my lips as I watched him carefully, "And what will you do if I don't tell you?" Internally I was flipping through the file I made on the realm known as Edolas, recalling details that I had been told about years ago, "Will you execute me just to get your way as your father would, Prince Jellal Fernandez?" 

His face drained of color at my accusation and the staff dropped from his hand to land gently on the ground between us, "No, of course not," He murmured gently before dropping to sit on the grass, "I just need to know how far the information has spread."

I nodded and sat as well, looking out over the city as my fake smile dropped, "That makes sense, you don't have to worry about it, I don't tell people about things that don't concern them and the Spark Plug sounds intimidating, but he's similar to me."

Silence reigned for a moment as Jellal 2.0 sat, apparently trying to decide if he could trust what I said, "How did you learn about us?" He finally asked, his voice far less commanding than it had been, "It's obvious you didn't just learn of it from gossipmongers."

He was completely unaware of this, but that question was an unintentional minefield... One person had already found out about my magic today, as far as I was concerned that was one person too many. I remained quiet for a moment, trying to decide what to tell him, "What do you know about me?" Now it was to quietly ask this as I sat there dreading the conversation to come.

"Only that they call you the Reluctant Fairy, though there's no reason given for that, and that you're not S Class, which is odd, considering the fact that your name is well known." I noticed him shrugging from the corner of my vision.

So I would at least have to tell a stalwart prince of a country that I was once an assassin... Lovely. 

"Well, that's certainly something," I sighed before leaning back onto the grass and looking up at the sky, "This is probably before your time here, but have you ever heard of an assassin named The Ghost of Fiore?"

Flashback

(This will take place roughly 10 years ago when Ember is 9. She already has a bit of a reputation as an assassin. Now that you have your bearings, let's go!)

My eyes watered slightly as I stared down the door of the run-down bar, listening closely to the usual sounds of drinking going on inside. This was one of the few times where being an underaged assassin was a disadvantage, and while I could work around it, it was still irritating. 

Normally, I would go into the bar and watch my target inconspicuously from the sidelines, but if I tried that right now I would undoubtedly pull a lot of attention to myself before being kicked out and told to go home... Along with a condescending pat on the head no doubt. If that happened, I'm not sure I would be able to stop myself from hunting down the people and making it look like someone else killed them.

No, it appeared that my target was taking his sweet time coming out what was worse? This was his third bar of the night, I had to be impressed with his dedication while at the same time pity his liver. I had been shadowing him for the last two days and yesterday was the same as well, drinking all evening, though last night the night ended with a 'nightcap' in his hotel room with a busty brunette.

I may be an assassin, but that doesn't mean that I wanted to listen to my target's nightly activities... I was still 9 for fuck's sake, knowing about that shit should be banned until you're at least twelve!

After that, I was rather eager to kill this guy, which meant that the target was going down tonight, even if it killed me.

The door of the bar opened and someone shambled out, drunkenly singing whatever song that had been making playing as he left. The light from the bar shone for a moment, highlighting his silhouette before the door slammed closed. That brief moment illuminated his ginger hair that was sloppily cut and the signature black cape that seemed to be his trademark, this certainly was my target.

As silently as a shadow, I jumped from rooftop to rooftop, getting ever so slightly ahead of him as I prepared to drop down into an alleyway. The whole time, my eyes never left him and I couldn't help but observe that he was walking remarkably well for someone who sounded as drunk as a fish... It was suspicious in the extreme, I needed to be careful.

My body moved instinctively as I lowered myself from the rooftops using a drainpipe, wincing slightly as I stretched out a muscle that I pulled only last week during my training. The only sounds were those that belonged to a city at night, crickets, rats scuttling around and the constant sounds of sales coming from the red light district, nothing that would indicate what was about to happen.

Like a viper, I struck and within a second, my target was in the alleyway with me, staring at my black boots from the ground as I knelt on his back, pinning him with a complex chokehold that my mentors had ground into my brain after breaking my fingers with it several times. If he really wanted to, he could call out, but I knew this area far too well as it was, murders were not uncommon, nor were any other kind of violent crime, which meant that the likelihood of someone coming to 'save' him was unlikely. If anything, the vermin of humanity would show up to join in the fun.

Right before my dagger could plunge into his neck, the smell of something odd caught my nose and I was forced to jump off him to avoid the explosion that he had somehow activated before he was pinned down. I jumped back to the shadows and he got to his feet fluidly, looked right at me, despite the darkness.

"Damn, yer good, please tell me I'm in the presence of the in..infamous Ghost of Fior-ye?" His voice was rough, a telltale slur carrying through the sentence, making it painfully obvious just how drunk he still was.

Now, I wasn't stupid, my mentors had drilled into my head over and over that only failures monologue, so there was no way in hell I would actually answer that. Though, they certainly never said anything about not asking questions, "Are you daft or did you just sound excited to be targeted by that murderer?" I spat hatefully, when in doubt, always vilify yourself to others, it makes you seem less likely to be who they think you are.

A hiccup was my immediate answer, though he quickly began laughing, "I-I know, right? That sounds so crazy!" He fell to his ass as he continued chuckling over whatever it was that his brain found funny, which surprised me quite badly. Were his self-preservation instincts completely gone? "Crazy, crazy, crazy... But, I guess I a-am a bit crazy; I mean... Aren't we all?" Once again he looked right at where I was hiding. "Come on out deary, and we'll have a ni-nice chat before ya kill me, I wanna get a good look at.. at the assassin I've heard oh so much about."

My eyes narrowed as I did as he asked, allowing my dagger to roll between my fingers as I glared down at this seemingly pathetic man, "We can talk, but only if you give up this ridiculous act," I scowled at him, ignoring the flash of surprise that practically caused him to flinch, "Watching you pretend to be drunk is painful."

"Damn, you are good," He whistled, "You're said to be the next big thing in the underground, and I can honestly see why. Though... I am confused as to why I'm not dead yet. Isn't talking to a target a really bad idea?" And just like that, the slur was gone, though he did have a point.

I could have killed him the moment I had him pinned, a small explosive was nothing comparatively, so why was he alive? 

Oh right, that smell.

"You're bleeding," I pointed out quietly, gesturing to his arm that had been grazed when he fell, the blood bubbling up steadily without signs of stopping.

He didn't even glance at his arm before brushing that off, "Yeah, so what? You can't expect me to believe that you, a trained assassin, stopped an assault because of a bit of blood."

I shook my head before leaning down to collect some of the blood on my finger before bringing it to my mouth, grinning wickedly as he stared at me with a dropped jaw, "Besides the fact that you're almost more alcohol than human, your blood tastes off. I don't know why. You blood says that you aren't from this place."

The dropped jaw fell further, if that was physically possible, before he burst out laughing, "Are you kidding me? You can tell that from my blood?! That's it, I've seen it all, I can die a happy man!"

It was my turn to stare at him in shock, I knew he didn't have much sanity to begin with, but this was a bit excessive, "Excuse me?" My little voice came out sounding so offended as I practically squeaked my complaint.

"Nah, Nah, this is great! I've only had one other person be able to tell that I'm not from this world, and that was because they practically saw me coming into this world. Yet here you are, a trained assassin, and you tell that there's something off about me within a minute of actually meeting me and more than that? It's because you tasted my blood. Man, I thought I was going to be disappointed if I found out that I wasn't the Ghost of Fiore that everyone's so hyped about, but this is better than I thought it would be!" 

Normally at this point, my target would be dead and I would be setting off the flair, getting ready to head home and take a well-deserved shower, but this was not okay. My target was lying on the ground, in stitches about... Well, I still wasn't entirely sure why he was so happy...

So many thoughts were racing through my mind, that it was a struggle to pick just one to ask him about, "Wait..." I murmured slowly, staring at this apparently alien creature in front of me, "You mean to tell me that you're not from this world? What the hell?"

The man's nod was cheerful, "That's right, my original home was a place called Edolas. it's kind of like here, but a bit less tolerant and a bit more... Well, extra." My face must have shown my confusion because my target simply chuckled before patting the dirty ground next to him, "Pop a squat kid, and I'll tell you about a world with minimal magic." 

Cautiously I sat across from him, both my dagger and my longsword out and ready, just in case, "Don't tell me everything," I grumbled, "I still have a job to do at some point, just cover the basics."

Once again the man chuckled, "Sure thing kid, don't want to make you have a pay cut just because I decided to blabber on. If I talk too much, stab me, okay?" I nodded before he grinned at me and started.

"Well, you see, back in my land, I was considered to be something of a trouble maker... Heh, the king hated me and I hated him right back, so it made sense. I was more than willing to relieve him of some of his ill-gained gold from time to time, which, by the way, he took from the guild who were trying to form and do good things." He ducked his head as my dagger went flying right by where he had been, "Okay, okay, I get the point, have a bit of patience, would you?"

Patience? He really wanted me to have patience? I was having patience by letting him talk at all!

"Anyways, that good king of ours had been stealing magic from this place for a while now using portals things that everyone knows about, but no one wants to mess with. Well, at one point I was cornered by the king's personal hitman, a really nasty piece of work she is, but one of those portals opened up and I fell through, winding up here." He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked up at the smoke that replaced any form of stars, "I had hoped that this place would be better, but it's not actually all that different. I guess bad governments are just universal, huh?"

I was speechless, truly shocked by all of this. There was no way any of this could be true, but I didn't sense any lies coming from him...

There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but I knew that I needed to get out of here sooner rather than later, "You mentioned that you would be disappointed if the Ghost of Fiore wasn't you. What did that mean?" Apparently I chose to continue asking questions, though I would definitely have to prioritize.

A hand dropped on my head, nearly causing me to take another swing at the idiot before me, "You know, I'm not to sure myself, I just know that apparently there's different versions of everyone in each world. I guess I just thought that it would be cool if I turned out to be some badass assassin in this world. Too bad I guess, I'll just have to live with my disappointment."

The blade that had been twisting smoothly between my fingers stilled. That's right, I was here to kill him... Wasn't I?

My voice squeaked slighty as I looked at the man, "Could I ask you some more questions?" My contract could wait just a little longer. I was still killing him for making me listen to crap I never wanted to hear, but it was glaringly obvious that we both needed this moment.

***

So, amidst the garbage and other gross alleyway things two low lives sat for the rest of the night, talking and enjoying each others company until the sun pushed away the darkness. Unfortunately for both of them, no amount of happy talking could ever change the obligation they had, so in the end, little changed.

The sun was greeted by blood.


	31. Change Sucks

Jellal 2.0's face after I finished my story was absolutely priceless, his jaw was practically touching the ground and no matter how much I chuckled, he looked as though he was a deer that jumped in front of a magic mobile.  
"So... You stabbed him?" His voice legitimately squeaked on the last word, " Even after you admitted to enjoying him?"  
I nodded solemnly, a humorless grin on his face, "Well yeah, Someone was paying me to kill him, so I did, that idiot understood my predicament, he even helped me drive the knife home when I was struggling."  
It took a moment, but eventually, Jellal 2.0 regain a small portion of his composure, "I... I see. The man you killed was a rather well-known figure in Edolas before he disappeared at the height of his career. I must admit that many of the pieces of my father's story never quite made sense... Thank you for telling me this."  
I couldn't help but roll my eyes slightly that, "I didn't tell you that as a favor to you," I stood from my hunched over position on the ground and stretched. It was a wonderful feeling to no have so much magical pressure on me as I had been slowly adjusting to over the last week. Not that I couldn't feel anything, a weird sense had been growing on me for the last several minutes, as though something major was incoming.  
Perhaps the Thunder Palace was getting ready to go off... Shit, I should probably start bracing myself, shouldn't I?  
Jellal 2.0 pulled an apple out of his cloak and offered it to me, "I still don't see what that has to do with Laxus knowing about my identity."   
I shook my head and he shrugged, taking a bite of the apple as he waited for me to respond, "Oh... That's right," I muttered, I may or may not have completely forgotten why I was telling him any of that to begin with, "Well, I did research on all the members of the guild when I was forced to join, and as I was researching about you, your past came up blank... It took a ridiculous amount of time, but eventually, I was able to connect you with that guy from several years before. After that, it was a simple matter to guess where you had come from and connect the dots.  
"Unfortunately, Laxus found my notes before I had a chance to burn them. He was interested in what I had said, and no amount of ignoring him would get him off my back, so I told him what had happened."  
That unidentified feeling was getting to the point of actually bothering me now, it felt as though my magical immunity was trying to brush off something... Wait.  
Without saying anything, I stood and walked a few steps away from Jellal 2.0, who was still absorbing what I told him, "Hey," I said quickly, trying to get some urgency into my voice.   
Jellal 2.0 looked up at me, though his expression quickly turned into one of shock as a yellow light began to envelop me, "I don't know how aware I'll be after this, so just bring me to Porlyusica and tell her I absorbed the Thunder Palace's discharge... She should be able to help."  
He wasn't able to get anything out before I was completely surrounded by Laxus' magic. It was so strong that my magical immunity was immediately washed away, similar to how Jose's magic affected me. I probably would have thought about it more, but all of my brain function ceased the instant the majority of the lightning hit me.   
I was vaguely aware of a pained scream echoing around me, but for the most part, I was consumed by the feeling of lightning rushing through my veins.  
My heart stuttered multiple as I struggled to keep breathing. Fireworks sparked behind my eyes as I could feel my blood struggle to go through me. Dimly I recognized the fact that I fell to the ground, my legs unable to bear my weight as my body convulsed and my teeth sunk into my tongue, drawing blood.  
It seemed to last forever, but eventually, the twitching stopped and I was left alone in the dark, feeling as though my body had been covered by a layer of concrete. The sound around me was nothing but a light buzz, even the feeling of heartbeats surrounding me was muffled, reaching me through what felt like a heavy mist.  
To some extent, I was aware of time passing, but a month could have passed and I probably would have been none the wiser. My body was jostled multiple times, causing an uncomfortable shockwave to rip through me, tearing apart the apathetic numbness that was in the process of settling over me.  
Eventually, voices began to filter in through my consciousness, it was more confusing than anything at first, but over time the voices gained some clarity stringing together sentences that made marginally more sense as I faded in and out of consciousness, "What did she say?!"  
"She said she absorbed the discharge of the Thunder Palace... Not sure how that would be possible."  
"This damage is incredible, she should be dead!"  
"Was there anything that indicated how she might have done that? It seems impossible for someone with no magic."   
"Focus on that later, lay her here Mystogen. If I'm right, she should be fine soon enough."  
After that, darkness eclipsed my senses and I lost some track of time... At least that was until the sensation of a soft hand lying gently on my forehead roused me slightly, "Ember." The voice whispered quietly in my ear with a familiar voice, one that was grumpy as hell yet dependable.  
I attempted to jerk up to a sitting position just with that one word, but my body rebelled and as was left to writhe on the bed someone had placed me on as all my injuries decided to scream at me at once.  
It had been quite some time since I felt this genuinely crappy, the last time being Jose's fight. My muscles all seemed to be in the process of rebelling, while my internal organs felt as though they had been removed with a pair of dull scissors.  
Before I could even open my eyes, a soft hand rested gently on my forehead, guiding me back to the pillow, "It's better if Miss Ember doesn't move," A familiar, yet far different voice than the one that had woken me up called out softly.  
My eyes slid open, only to wince closed again at the harsh white light that seemed to be attacking my eyes. Judging by the white that was everywhere I could only guess that I was in the guild's infirmary, unless I was way off base and Hell was a lot nicer than I thought it would be...  
Once again I cracked open my eyes, squinting hatefully at the light, only barely noticing the blue and yellow blobs next to me, "Where's th'spark plug?" I muttered out, trying to ignore the pain as I lifted my head slightly, determined to sit up.  
"Stay down Miss Ember," A different voice said worriedly and the blonde blob moved forward to restrain my shoulders, "Porlyusica said that you were badly hurt. You really shouldn't be moving around."  
To hell with that. I shakily pushed the blond's hands off me as I continued, "I heard the Spark Plug, where is he?" My vision began to clear as the girls both seemed to decide that it wasn't worth fighting me anymore, instead one helped me to sit while the other piled something behind my back, presumably pillows to prop me up.  
The blobs turned out to be Lucy and Juvia, both of whom were looking at me with concern, "Juvia has not seen a spark plug... Is Miss Ember feeling alright?"  
I clicked my tongue dismissively, "Of course not, my insides were recently attempting to move out, there would be a problem if I felt okay. And I didn't mean a literal spark plug Juvia, I meant the type that likes to walk around like a buffoon with it's inflated ego."  
Lucy's eyes lit up as she undoubtedly connected the dots, though it seemed that Juvia was still a bit lost, "W-What? Juvia is sorry, but Juvia wasn't aware that self-aware spark plugs could exist... This sounds like a troublesome thing... I hope you don't run across it."  
A genuine smile spread across my face at that and I quickly waved off Lucy, who leaned over to correct Juvia, "You're right, Miss Juvia, it definitely is a troublesome thing." Brushing off his voice that was probably nothing more than my imagination, "What happened?"  
This time Lucy leaned forward worriedly, "That's actually what we wanted to ask you... I only returned to the guild recently, but when I did it turned out that Mystogen brought you in and you were near death. Porlyusica seemed to have some understanding of what happened, but no one else could figure out how you got so badly hurt."  
For the first time I took a moment to address the state of both women, there was a slew of electrical burns covering them, as well as the tell tail look of a fight in their eyes. I sighed and shook my head, "I only did what I could to help you guys out. After all, it looks like you both took some damage in this shit show."  
Neither of them looked satisfied by that answer so I groaned slightly and winced as I tried to ru my eyes, "Listen... I can't tell you everything right now, it's... it's too long of a story for that, but I do owe you some explanation." My eyes landed on Lucy, regret pouring from my as I tried not to remember my near fatal slip up. "If you guys are interested you can meet me at the Balsam Village train station in two weeks... I'll tell what I can then."  
Looks of excitement and joy covered their faces as they nodded enthusiastically, though there was some hesitation in Lucy's face, "Don't worry," I said soothingly, stopping her before she could ask, "It's okay with me if you bring a few people. Just not too many... I'm not sure how comfortable I am with having the whole guild crammed in my house."  
This time a squeal actually did erupt from Juvia, who was hugging herself as she watched me with wide eyes, "Does this mean Juvia can bring Gajeel? And maybe even... Maybe even Grey will come if Juvia asks him. Oh this is very exciting, Juvia will have to prepare..."  
She faded off, mumbling wildly as she contemplated inviting her crush. Lucy grinned at Juvia, though her smile seemed to be a bit worried, before she turned back to me, "Are you sure I can bring someone?"  
I smiled, "I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it. I will only tell you two about what happened, but my house is big enough to keep most others occupied for a decent amount of time. Just tell them that you were trying to get me out of my shell and I invited you over for lunch. That should satisfy their curiosity."  
Both girls nodded again and we moved on to far more light hearted topics...Well, they did, I simply sat their and listened as Juvia got jealous over Lucy's closeness with a... Grey? I think they were referring to Icyman, but that was only a guess. Other than that, time passed peacefully until I finally took notice of the fourth heartbeat in the room.  
Honestly, I was ashamed that it took me this long to pay attention to it, but my head was still a bit frazzled from the lightning so I did have a bit of an excuse.  
Attempting to stand brought the girls' attention right back to me, "Miss Ember!/ Ember!" They cried out, but that didn't stop me.  
My legs felt like jello underneath me as I attempted to stand, but I refused to make them help me a second time, "I'm sorry," My voice was quiet in an attempt to keep the pain from showing, "But could you guys leave? I've enjoyed talking to you, but I need to talk to the Old Man." That shut them up quickly enough.  
I heard them retreat and the door clicked shut again, but that was no longer important. My focus had narrowed in on the old man, who was lying on the bed with tears running down his cheeks, "You seem to be finding more friends, I'm so glad to hear that, my child."  
His voice was weak and I could sense his heart pumping irregularly. There was so little I had experienced with that, so for a moment I panicked, afraid that the my only father figure was dying... Though that thought was quickly pushed out as I realized that my heartbeat sounded similar to his. It was likely that he was simply recovering and that was putting strain on his heart.  
"Don't sound so worried, Old Man," I barked as firmly as my extremely sore muscles would let me, "I'm a very likable person." He looked up at me with a raised eyebrow as I chuckled, "What put you in the bed this time? Are you trying to kill yourself, or is this your new vacation home."  
No matter how irritated he tried to seem, he still looked like a wounded puppy, "Very funny Ember, I never knew you were such a comedian."  
I quietly chuckled before easing myself into the chair that was conveniently next to the Old Man's bedside, "Seriously though, what put you in the bed this time? Did the Spark Plug get you somehow?"  
He grumbled quietly under his breath before turning his head away from me, "It was nothing like that, just my body catching up with me."  
That made sense, I settled in slightly as a comfortable silence filled the air... For several minutes neither of us said a word until the door opened quietly, causing both of us to look over.  
A very bandaged up Laxus stood in the door, staring at me in shock as he remained frozen, "E...Ember?" Honestly, I couldn't move to get up even if I wanted to. My body had decided it liked the chair and that it was staying there... Who was I to argue with it?  
"What?" I asked dryly, "Not expecting to see me all bandaged up?"  
He shook his head slowly, "I felt my magic being redirected when the Thunder Palace was activated, but I didn't know..."  
I sighed deeply, trying to stop myself from using a witty retort that he very obviously didn't need right now. "Yeah, it all went to me, though to be fair, I did bring it upon myself."  
The confusion was practically radiating from him, but I was quite unwilling to answer any more questions, so I simply nodded to his bandages, "I certainly hope the other guy is a lot worse off than you otherwise you'll be giving me a bad rep."  
Something akin to a smile touched his lips, though he quickly repressed it and looked past me to the old man, who was staring at him with a look that was equal to the time I came back from the Tower of Heaven with blood on my hands, "Laxus, I don't think you understand the seriousness of what you've done."  
I shrank back into the seat as far as I could. The last thing I wanted was to be here for something I knew was coming.  
"Fairy Tail is built off the belief that all our members are also family, no matter what. We laugh together and we fight together. Our family's triumphs are our triumphs and their losses are our losses. It is a place where the homeless can find a place to belong, the friendless can find support, and those who are unable to continue on can find respite."  
He paused for a moment and both Laxus and I looked at the ground, completely unable to find anything to say, "The feeling that comes from our guild is not one that can be owned, or taken control of, because the moment you try, you destroy the special feeling that many of my children depend upon."  
A sad feeling welled up in my heart. I was one of those people, I depended on the feeling this guild gave to people, even if it took me years to realize that fact.  
"When I bring in new family members it is important that they are trustworthy, because without trust, no bonds can form, and this guild will fall apart."  
"Your actions today have proven that you do not have the qualities needed, not only did you act contrary to everything this guild believes, you also put many of the guild members in harm's way. If people did not think so quickly, Magnolia would be in ruins right now."  
It was almost unfair, I had murdered people in the past, multiple times, and even attempted to kill Laxus, yet he was the one getting in trouble for causing some ruckus... It didn't make sense.  
"I swear I didn't mean to hurt anyone," Laxus said, almost desperately. We could both sense what was coming, and anyone listening could the sound of his heart fracturing, "All I wanted was to make us stronger, we were being targeted... I just... I just wanted..." He trailed off, unable to continue as the Old Man leveled a steely glare at him.  
Makarov hopped off his bed and walked to the middle of the aisle, facing Laxus head on, "I do feel terrible, you really are so much like me... So high strung that you can't see the forest for the trees. You need to learn to relax or you'll end up in here with me; take time to smell the roses and see the beauty around you, because believe me, there's so much to take in. It's amazing how much fun life can be if you just learn that..."  
"I've watched you grow through the years, and believe me, you've made me proud many times, but I can't help but wonder where I went wrong... What lesson did I fail to teach you for you to miss the point so badly?"  
I stiffened at that, I knew that Makarov was trying to make a point, but to do so like this, this was far too much. Desperately I looked up at Laxus before forcing myself to stifle a gasp... He was reacting far differently than I was afraid he would; instead of being angry or full of shame like I was assuming would happen, something was going on with Laxus' face that I had never seen before.  
The blond spark plug was tearing up.  
Not full on crying, he still maintained some of his pride, but there were obvious tear welling up in the corners of his eyes... Instantly, my heart began to shatter and I had to physically stop myself from lunging forward.  
"Unfortunately, the past is the past and nothing can be changed after the fact; your actions have left me with no other choice, so it is with a heavy heart that I do this... Laxus Dreyer, as the Master of Fairy Tail, I hereby revoke your membership within Fairy Tail."  
My reaction to that once statement was violent, immediately I jumped from the chair, a strangled cry wrenching from my lips as my body was forced into action it hadn't been prepared for, "What the hell?!"  
The Old Man probably jumped at least a foot off the ground at my cry, but Laxus stood where he had been, a look of calm resignation that was contradicted by the tears that had finally broken free and were running down his cheeks.  
"Ember, this is my decision and it is final, please don't argue or I will have to ask you to leave the room." Sorrow filled Makarov's voice, but a sense of pain induced rage was filling me, spurring me onwards.  
My fists clenched tightly by my sides, my nails digging into my palms the only indication of how truly on edge I was, "So what, just because of a little havoc he's gone? That isn't even slightly fair! I've committed murder in the past month, literally killed people who only mostly deserved to die, and all I got for it was a small slap of the wrist! All that talk about comradery, yet here you are, jumping straight to exiling him."  
I could hear Makarov's teeth clenching together as he remained where he was, not even facing me, "So what do you expect me to do, just allow him to continue on? Should I allow the terrible events that occurred today which threatened the lives of many more than were aware to pass by without consequence?"  
"No," I shook my head and attempted to take a step forward, though I quickly realized that standing so quickly had just about made me ready to collapse, so walking anywhere was out of the question, "He obviously needs punishment, but kicking him out is too much, if you kick him out of that reason, then you need to kick me out as w-"   
Laxus' strong hand slipped over my mouth before I could finish my statement, "No, Coal Head, it's fair...I understand, Grandpa." Makarov's breath hitched at that point, as did mine, in all the time I had known this angsty spark plug, he had never once called Makarov by that name, so to do it now...   
It was sudden, but perhaps I was right, may being beaten by the same people he looked down on was a good lesson for him... Maybe this would put him on a healthier path.  
Though, I was unable to think on that much longer, as the idiot swept his other arm under my legs and pulled me into a princess hold, "If you took as much damage as I suspect, being out of bed is a fucking terrible idea." Unfortunately, him sweeping me up like that had stolen my breath, and no, I don't mean in a cheesy way, I landed a bit weird in his arms the breath was literally forced from me.  
With the same amount of care and concern, I was dropped onto the bed, forcing a pained cry from my lips, though that was silenced as the spark plug leaned over me and whispered quietly in my ear, "Forgive me, Coal Head."  
I was so shocked the only reaction I could muster was a blink in his direction before he was up and walking towards the door, "You take care of yourself, you hear me old man?" That was all he said before he was gone and the door was clicking shut behind him.  
Silence reigned for a moment as we both took in what had just happened, "He's going to make a good guy now that he's beginning to learn what humility is." I murmured to myself as I looked over a Makarov, who was trying to stop the tears rolling down his cheeks, "You don't have to place the strong card, you know, it's okay to admit you'll miss him."  
The old man shook his head, looking back towards the ground, "No, I'm the guild master, I need to stand tall in my decisions, especially the ones that I never wanted to make. Besides, weren't you against that judgment to begin with?"  
Solemnly, I nodded, "Yes, and I still am, but if Laxus has accepted it, then I will too. If he had wanted to contest that, then you would be dealing with me as well." I watched as Makarov froze before he sighed deeply.  
"I suppose that's fair, now, let us turn to more pressing topics, like your ability to redirect magic, mind explaining to me where that came from?" He walked towards me before hopping into the seat in a direct mirror of our positions from before... This was going to be so much fun...  
***  
Fireworks lit up the night sky as I wove my way through the crowd. It took about three hours before the Old Man was finally satisfied with my answers, as short and slightly waspish as they were. I told him everything about my magic (minus the rampage I had gone on when I was young... That was something I just wasn't ready to talk about yet) and thankfully he seemed to understand.  
Afterward, I made my way back to my hotel room, carefully avoiding everyone from the guild, especially the Crazy Card Lady who had shown up on my doorstep with Lucy and Juvia not long ago attempting to get me to join the Miss Fairy Tail Contest. This time she was attempting to get me into a slinky black dress and my worst enemy of all... Heels... Apparently, there was a parade going on that night and she wanted me to join one of the floats.  
It really shouldn't have surprised them that I fled so quickly after that.  
No, when it came to parades or really any big event like them, I was much happier on the sidelines, or even to not be there at all.   
Unfortunately, cleaning up my hotel room and checking out had taken far longer than I would have liked, so I was stuck ducking and dodging through the crowd, looking for the one person I needed to get to before I could leave for Era. Thankfully, I had had an extra lacrima lying around in case of emergencies, and the moment I saw it, I knew exactly who I wanted to give it too.  
His heartbeat had been lingering around all day, and at one point he met up with the rest of the Thunder God Tribe. It physically hurt to not run to the park where they were and tell them how much I cared, but they needed time. If anyone understood that fact, it was me... Also, it was highly unlikely that I would be able to run anywhere because of my sore body, so I contented myself with imagining what was being said.   
I could say goodbye to them another time... Reaching Laxus was far more important to me.  
A wince stole across my face as I received an elbow to the midriff as I slipped between two people. The person hastily apologized, but I simply waved him off and kept going, I was close, though I had been dodging in between people for the last ten minutes, he was probably in the next alleyway over.  
The crowd was not kind to my battered body, but eventually, I made it, just barely seeing everyone on the floats holding up the Fairy Tail sign before I turned into the alley. Low and behold, there stood the Spark Plug himself with large tears rolling down his cheeks as he struggled to tear his eyes away from the parade, "Even if I can't see you... No matter how far away you may be, I'll be watching you." I muttered just loud enough for him to hear, he jumped slightly at my unexpected voice, but quickly turned his head away in shame.  
"If I remember correctly, the Old Man once mentioned that you were the one to come up with that signal, weren't you?" No response, he was staring at the ground, no doubt waiting for me to lay into him, "They may be idiots, but their hearts are in the right places."  
I turned and leaned against a nearby wall, watching the parade with the smallest of smiles tugging against my lips, "I mean, just look at them, they obviously recognize a true member of Fairy Tail when they see one." I looked back to Laxus, who had finally looked up to me, his eyes wide and teary, "Don't tell me you were trying to leave without saying goodbye to me... I mean, I get that you've been a dick for quite some time, but you're still my oldest and best friend. No matter what terrible shit you get up to.  
Honestly, I could have continued rambling for quite some time, but I was cut off abruptly by a pair of strong arms pulling me into a hug. This was only my second hug in years, so immediately my face flushed and I stood stiffly, unsure of what to do.  
"I thought I had killed you," He whispered softly into my hair, "When I saw you in the infirmary, you seemed so fragile, and it terrified me... I'm so sorry." I may be tall, but Laxus eclipsed me entirely, his whole frame bending over slightly so he could completely envelop me. It was a... nice sensation, one that I had never felt before.   
Hesitantly I reached up my arms and wrapped them around his broad shoulders before patting his back awkwardly, "Hey, it's okay, I'm here now... It's not like you did any actual damage to me, that was all my own stupidity."   
It was apparent that I had not done this before as Laxus pulled back and examined all my injuries. "That's true, I don't remember you being so banged up before... How the hell did so much of my lightning get directed to you anyway?"  
A wince stole across my face, "Sorry, but this really isn't the time to open that can of worms" He nodded, accepting my decision as he turned to walk away, his hand raised in the classic wave that I hadn't seen him do for years. I smile as I watched him go... At least until I remembered that I had something to give him, "Hey, Spark Plug!" I called up, taking two quickened steps down the alleyway before deciding that speed was just not in the cards for me.  
He stopped, but didn't turn around, "What is it Coal Head? I really do need to get going so I can snag a room for the night." His voice was grumpy, but there was no bite to it.  
I quickly pulled the knapsack off my back and grabbed the extra lacrima that I had stowed in there, "Think quick," I called, throwing the lacrima at his back in a wide arc. His quick reflexes allowed him to turn and catch it before it had the chance to smack him on his head.  
He sent me a questioning look as he gingerly held the crystal as though it would explode at any moment, "Oh stop being such a baby," I teased, wincing as I slung the knapsack back onto my shoulders, "The Rune Knights have reached out to me to do a job for them, and if this goes well, they might ask me to help out more. Honestly, I don't really like the council, but their jobs are pretty difficult, so I might need help. Do you feel up to be being my partner for this?"  
"You could choose anyone to work with you," He said quickly, shock swimming in his eyes, "Why me?"  
This caused me to genuinely laugh, "Well yeah, there are plenty of people I could ask to help me out with this, but none of them would be you, now would they?" He obviously didn't understand, so I sighed dramatically, "Man, you're really going to make me spell it out, aren't you?" I said playfully, "I know your fighting style better than anyone and it really compliments mine, I think we'd be an amazing team if we actually stopped trying to kill each other for once."  
His eyebrows furled, making the scar over his eye warp oddly, "But I attacked Fairy Tail, I could have killed so many people... I could have killed you... How could you just forgive me like that?"  
At that, I really just wanted to facepalm... This idiot was so smart a majority of the time that his dumb moments really threw me off, "Did you not hear what I said in the infirmary? I have killed so many people over the years, and three recently. Do you really think I would care that much about some pride filled rampaging? Believe me Sparky, that's tame. The only reason I would look down on you would be if you decided not to learn from the shit show you caused today"  
He blinked, apparently in shock, before nodding and slipping the lacrima into his pocket. He seemed to want to say something, his mouth opening and closing several times, but before he could actually get anything ou, he thought better of it and turned around to walk away.  
I slowly smiled at that, neither of us were good at expressing emotions, but I knew he would help, "Glad you're seeing things my way," I called out before turning back to the parade, "Now how am I going to get through this crowd... That is the real question?"


	32. MHA AU

FYI, this chapter is an AU. I'm pulling Ember and her ability to manipulate blood, and putting it into the world of My Hero Academia... I'm ridiculously excited for this, because, I mean, honestly, she is such a fun person to transplant! This will be a slightly more lighthearted chapter that will be a good foil between the angst of the last arc and the angst of this next arc.  
There will be hints of Ember x Aizawa, and our dearest assassin will be a vigilante/ low key villain who loves to tease him whenever he gets close to her.  
Also... I didn't realize until just before I posted this, but I am pretty darn sick, and fevers always mess with my brain, so if this makes no sense, that's why.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It's a quality of the gods  
To see a creature with its back broken  
And be unmoved  
-Suniti Namjoshi  
The moonlight seemed to shimmer as it reflected off the highrise buildings, the noise that came from the city below never stopping, but it seemed faded from this high up as the woman's hair rippled in the breeze. She was perched on the outer edge of the tallest building around, though, just by watching her you might think that it was the most comfortable seat in the whole city.  
Her face was completely relaxed as she stared up at the stars above, how close these man-made structures were able to get her to the glittering gems of the sky was the only good thing to come of humanity in her mind. The rest of those screwups could all go and die for all she cared, in fact, she had brought that fate to many of them herself.  
Perhaps that was morbid, but she really couldn't bring herself to care when there was such a beautiful show being presented for her.  
"Why is it that whenever I find it here rather than at the scene of one of your crimes?" A familiar deep voice called out to her, which was more than enough to force an exasperated sigh from her. She didn't even need to look behind her to know that the voice belonged to the only pro hero who had been clever enough to see her more than once.  
It would be so easy for her to simply jump off the building now to get away, but she had already gotten her heart set on sitting here for another few hours, so that idea was off the table. "Maybe because I'm not an idiot, nor am I one of those psychopaths who wants to get caught." She said dryly, cutting herself off to gasp softly as a shooting star crossed a small corner of the sky.  
A quiet rustle was Ember's only warning that the pro hero Eraserhead had made his move, his capture weapon was a formidable weapon to be sure, but her reflexes were just as quick as his and a horrid grating sound replaced the peaceful quiet. Modified metal collided with hardened blood as a drill-like tendril spouted from a small cut on her back that had been made by her outfit.  
"Sorry, TP," She said, a mocking bite to her words, "If you were a little quicker you could have gotten me that time."  
Still, Ember refused to look away from the stars, why replace the best view with a subpar one?  
This was a dance that had repeated multiple times now, he would come to 'her' roof and attack her for a few minutes before they either stopped to have a brief chat before she got away or she simply jumped off the building and escaped without the preamble. Honestly, she was getting quite frustrated that her time with the stars continually got cut short by this perpetually tired man.  
She could hear his heartbeat start to relax as he presumably settled in for a longer chat, she was none too excited that she would have company for her star watching, "Why do I always find you here?" He asked, frustration evident in his voice, "It's always this rooftop, why is that?"   
He was so noisy, it was irritating... She was well aware that he wouldn't leave her alone, even if she answered his questions; but perhaps she would get a few minutes of silence if she answered... It was certainly worth a try, "Can you see the stars that form an M?" she asked quietly lifting her hand to point at a blank spot in the sky, "Throughout the world, it has so many different stories behind it. For example, in Greece, it was said that Zeus chained his wife, Hera, to a throne in the sky when she killed one of his lovers because of jealousy. During half of the year she sits upright and rules from her spot in the sky comfortably, but once the seasons change, the throne flips over, punishing Hera for her sin as she hangs upside down."  
Eraserhead said nothing as he stared at her back, completely baffled, why would the number one vigilante in the country be sitting here telling him about the mythology behind a constellation?   
"They're just stories, of course, but that just shows the strange fascination humanity has always held towards the heavens." Her hand dropped back to support her as she leaned back comfortably in her precarious position. "Really, stars are the only worthwhile thing in this world and humans can barely build buildings high enough to see them clearly past the lights of the city."  
Let it never be said that Aizawa Shota was dull in any way, he was quite observant, yet it took him almost a full minute to figure out what she was trying to tell him, "So... you like to watch... the stars?"He hedged, watching as she slipped the mask down to cover her face from where it had been resting on her head, "That is interesting, the infamous Ghost like to stargaze." He stopped himself from chuckling, no doubt that would send her away again and he would lose the opportunity to question her.  
It was unlikely that she would allow him to do this again.  
Much to his surprise, the Ghost tuned around and he caught sight of her brilliant blood red eyes. Besides that and her black and red hair, very little was known about her appearance, since she normally fled before anyone could get a good look at her.  
Her face was covered by an ornate mask (think the face mask shown in the first chapter of the book) and her outfit was simple, a black crop top covering a red shirt, black leather pants, and sturdy shoes that would likely be classified as combat boots. Two swords were stapped to her hips, but the real threat was the fact that there were needles embedded into her shirt, a fact that Aizawa had learned first-hand last time they fought, which she used to activate her rather gruesome quirk.  
Overall, if the mask was done away with, she really wouldn't be that imposing of a figure, but there was a sense of bloodlust that hung around her, making all but the densest of people wary in her presence.  
"Is that an issue?" Her voice remained reserved, as it always was, "I doubt you're one to speak Eraserhead, after all, your love of cats doesn't really fit the 'stoic badass' image you try to project, does it?" Immediately he stiffened, he didn't publicize anything if he could help it, and him loving cats shouldn't be something a woman like her knew. "Calm down, TP," She muttered before turning back to stare at the stars, "I picked that fact up from seeing you interact with one on a mission a few weeks ago."  
He lost none of his rigidity, "If I had felt the need to follow you around to find out that kind of thing personally, you would be dead already. I don't put that kind of effort into just anyone you know."  
His glare was sharp as he stared holes into her back, "That isn't reassuring." He grumbled, frustration levels beginning to rise.  
"It should be," Her voice contained a laugh that made Aizawa want to start attacking without asking any more questions, "I only kill people who deserve it, so unless you have some pretty major skeletons inside your closet, you're safe."  
The way she said that indicated that she didn't see a problem with her actions, but this was something that he simply couldn't believe, "You killed a pro-hero last week!" He exclaimed, his capture weapon reacting to his disbelief.  
There was no response to that at first, perhaps she was rethinking her words; at least, that what he hoped she was doing... but those hopes were dashed when she finally spoke, "Which one was that?"  
"You... You seriously don't remember?" He asked, the shock completely setting him back, especially when she shook her head, "It was a week ago, you killed the Tsar, a Russian hero. He had brown hair and a thick mustache. Have you seriously killed enough people that you can't remember them all now?"  
Ghost's face furrowed, not that he could see it, but she was contemplating his question, "Mustache, mustache, mustache... I remember one... Oh, wait!" She lit up slightly, "I remember him now! No, that guy was into some seriously weird shit, he stole his brother's identity when he came over from Russia, which meant that he was able to escape the warrant they had out for him."  
Of all the things Aizawa expected Ghost to say, this was not one of them and he was stunned into silence for a full minute because of that.   
Before he had a chance to recollect himself, Ghost spoke up, a hint of laughter hiding in her voice, "Well, this has been so much fun TP, but you're intruding on my stargazing, so I'll probably just go for tonight. Hopefully, we won't, but I'll probably see you again sometime soon."  
With that, she tipped herself forward just enough to send her toppling off the roof. Aizawa couldn't help but sigh at that, every time they met, she ended up doing this, so the only emotion he could feel was irritation. He knew that she would catch herself with her blood, and then she would be gone because every time he tried to follow her, she disappeared within seconds, blending in well with the darkness she was enshrouded in... It was as though she was a character on anime, defying physics and anything else that made real sense.  
He groaned heavily before walking off the roof, she had given him even more work, as he now had to investigate her claims on the pro hero Tsar...  
What a pain.  
***  
Ember was one of the most resourceful vigilantes of this age, she did as she felt was right, regardless of the consequences and she certainly wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty. Unfortunately for her, this made her the prime target for recruitment by all the most annoying people, who she would more than happily put in the ground if they gave her more than half a chance.  
This was the situation she found herself in at the moment, on a roof in Hosu, surrounded by three of the five most irritating people she had the displeasure of meeting. One was a man with hands all over his body who enjoyed playing games of cat and mouse with her, another was a smoke demon shoved into the suit of a butler, and the last one was the peak of everything Ember hated in humanity.   
The warped creature stared lifelessly at her as it gave off small animalistic squawks every few seconds. In their pride, humanity had created something that should never have been made using members of the same species that they deemed to be worth lesser...   
It made Ember sick.  
All she wanted was a quiet night of stargazing after a stressful few days, and she couldn't go back to her usual spot since TP was more than likely to have turned that area into a trap. The only reason she would willingly associate with these idiots would be if they had broken one of her rules, which was harder to do than most people realized.  
"What do you want?" She snapped quickly, not giving themselves to inflate their own ego's with an overstated intro like they had done more than once already.  
The handed man snarled at her, but she could really care less about that as she looked at the smoke demon (who was the obvious leader, since the actual leader acted more like a spoiled child than a criminal mastermind), "You had better not be here to reiterate what you've already told me. I'm dealing with enough shit as it is."  
If Ember cared enough, she probably would have laughed at how the handed man snarled at her blatant disrespect, "Can't we just kill her already? She's annoying me."  
A chilling chuckle split the night air, "Annoying you? How cute, you think I give two shits about what you and your overindulgent parent thinks. How about this, hand job, it doesn't take a genius to see that you're planning something big for tonight since you've got you mutant freaks with you. Since you've bothered me one too many times, I'll take it upon myself to stop whatever it is you're doing, and just generally get in your way."  
At that, she stood, her tall figure was imposing enough on its own but when the mask and blood swirling around her was added in, she was god damn terrifying... The other people on the roof moved to get in her way, but found themselves at an impasse, as spikes of razor-sharp blood appeared near their weak spots. Just like every other time they had attempted to press-gang her into joining something like this happened, and just like every time, she vanished into the wind, leaving behind only small smudges of blood on the cement at their feet.  
Most people would have admitted defeat by this point, but not the idiot who was now trembling with rage as his new nemesis walked away from him, "How dare she... She'll regret the day she ever rejected me. She should be begging us to join our cause, yet she throws that offer right back in our faces? How dare she?"  
The shadow demon listened to his boss rant angrily at the sky, he wanted desperately to point out that now they had another enemy to deal with, one that could easily prove to be more dangerous than the heroes. After all, this enemy had no issues with killing.  
Ember, on the other hand, was wandering through the street with her mask in her shoulder bag and her tell-tale ombre hair pulled back to avoid attention. She promised those league of villain idiots that she would get in their way, and that's exactly what she intended to do. She made her way to the nearest patroling hero, a kind looking man and a younger man in a metal suit, before whipping up some tears.  
"Sirs, Sirs, please help!" She cried out, patting herself on the back for being such a good actor. They turned towards her, but she didn't give them enough time to respond as she collapsed to her knees and looked up at them tearfully, "I was in my apartment when I heard villains talking above me! They said that they were going to attack tonight and that they had creatures called... A... I'm sorry, it was terrible, I think it was called a nomu or something like that!"   
Both men were now paying complete attention to her, she had to make sure to give enough little known information to make them believe her, but not too much to seem suspicious. "I saw one of the creatures, it was awful! It had wings, and just looked so misshapen! I'm sorry, but I think the city is in terrible danger!"   
The men both rushed to comfort her as she grinned wickedly into her hands, she should win an award for this shit! Thankfully, it seemed as though the men had plenty of time to warn citizens, so she allowed herself to vanish to go raise some more hell.  
Since they knew that she was going to stand in their way, now they only had two options, retreat or strike quickly. Retreat would be easier on the officials, but since when did she care about them? Honestly, she was hoping they would choose the second option, seeing as how it would be a lot more fun for her.  
In fact, as she was walking down the nearest alleyway, an explosion went off bringing the biggest smile to her face. An emergency hellscape might as well have been Christmas judging by her elated expression  
.  
.  
.  
It was far less satisfying than Ember had hoped...  
Hand Job only seemed to bring three of those nightmare creatures, and already she had dispatched of two of them, completely ignoring the pro heroes who were yelling at her to get away.   
That was actually the most amusing part of the evening because the instant she turned to them with her mask on, they lost all color in their faces and backed away slowly, allowing her to destroy the nomus in peace until the higher tiered hero's showed up. Flame Face was one of the first on the scene, and immediately he was trying to fight her just as viciously as he fought the nomus.  
He was absolutely incensed, and with every trike, his hellfire grew hotter, to the point where he was literally melting the sidewalk and creating a greater hazard for everyone. She could call out to him and tell him to stop because he was an overgrown wrecking ball, but TP was the only one who had heard her voice which meant she really wasn't keen on interrupting. Besides, it's not like she cared about a bit of carnage anyways.  
He raced across the concrete after a flying nomu and behind him was a path of lava... This is precisely why she hated humans, they were all a waste of space, even if some were definitely worse than others.  
Her fun was completely ruined by that idiot jumping in, so shut used her blood to pull herself up onto the rooftops as she began running. Surely these three things weren't expected to be the only event... Once again the League of Villains was a disappointment.  
Maybe if she had waited to take out the two nomus? That would have stretched the fun out a little bit longer, but it also would have made her like one of the humans she despised so much, the ones who allowed others to be harmed just for some fun.  
It wasn't until he was passing over one of the many alleyways that Ember found something even remotely interesting. Sounds of an explosion coming from under her so she popped her head back down and gawked at the sight before her. Two teenage boys were protecting a fallen hero and the armored hero she talked to earlier against a creepy man with more scarves than he knew what to do with and more knives than he could properly use.  
Honestly, Ember didn't even care how good he was with those knives, the fact that she could count three on him from above, and at a really bad angle, was too much. Sure, she always had at least five knives on her at any given time, but hers were well hidden and more than one was laced with poisons to give her the upper hand in a close battle.  
Perhaps it was the knives, or maybe it was the fact that this idiot was going all out against kids, who were obviously far less skilled than him, but something inside Ember screamed at her to intervene, she was a vigilante for a reason, after all.  
Carefully, ensuring that she wasn't seen, Ember dropped down to land lightly on a clothesline that hung about twenty feet up from the battle as she observed. It looked as though the hero and the teenager were simply frozen, or perhaps paralyzed... Either way that didn't concern her all that much, after all, she was in control of her body.  
After watching for a few more moments, Ember finally decided to take action. A shift in balance was enough to send her into a forward flip off the clothesline and with her many many years of practice with this kind of thing, she managed to position herself to slam down right where the blade happy idiot had been standing a moment before.  
"Oh god," She murmured quietly, adjusting her mask, "You look even worse up close... Are you part worm or something?"  
The man obviously didn't seem to like that, but he had jumped out of her way in only the nick of time, so he jumped back to evaluate this new opponent.  
Behind her, the green-haired teenager gasped loudly in shock before yelping as he slumped to the ground. She looked passively at Worm guy who had a bloody blade running along his tongue.  
"You-You have to run away hero, this is Stain, the hero killer!" The unidentified boy called out to me from the ground, which pulled a snort from Ember, he was worried, how cute.  
Her hand rested lightly on the scabbard of her long sword, "Hero Killer, huh?" She breathed out, before looking back to the boys and blocking a strike from the Worm Man without even looking, "Well then, it's a damn good thing I'm not a hero, now isn't it?"   
Now it was the fallen hero's turn to gasp, while the calmer of the three teenagers narrowed his eyes in Ember's direction. Either he knew something, or he was just really on guard. "Boys, you need to get out of here, leave me behind while both of these two are distracted. You can't let them get you!" He cried out, grabbing all their attention, though it seemed the Worm Man had connected some of the dots.  
The two of them crossed blades once again as feral smiles covered their faces, "Not a hero? Don't make me laugh," His voice was worse than Ember imagined it would be, as though he had gargled gravel for a while before speaking, "Vigilantes are just as corrupt as the heroes in my mind. You all deserve to be wiped from the earth."  
Ember's eyebrow rose at that, the hypocrisy was strong with this one, "And you're better?" She laughed callously, ducking under a strike only to deliver her own to his lightly protected ribs, "I didn't think that I was the one to try and kill a bunch of teenagers, so tell me again how I'm the corrupt one?"  
Voices were murmuring behind her, likely trying to figure out just who Ember was, though Worm face was quicker than she thought he would be, so she could only really focus on him. It was intense, and anyone who didn't have enhanced vision likely wouldn't be able to focus on the fight. Eventually, her patience was rewarded and Ember managed to get Worm Face on his neck. It was a deep cut, but nothing that would slow him down.  
"You both help uphold the corrupt manner of governing that allows heroes to grow so out of check, you're in this for the fame." His attacks got harsher as with each word until Ember was on the defensive, "None of you deserve the title, I will rid this world of your plague!"   
The air seemed to freeze as Worm Face finally hit her; the alleyway silenced and she could feel the young teenagers behind her tense in preparation to begin battling again. Ember's red blood glistened on his blade as he jumped back and raised it to his mouth, his worm-like tongue reaching out to lick it, and claim what he thought would be a victory.  
No one was able to see this, but underneath her mask, Ember was smiling in anticipation as he came into contact with her blood, his face proclaiming victory... That is, it did until she failed to collapse as he obviously expected her to; in fact, Ember's blood remained glistening on Worm-Face's blade, rippling slightly as she used her quirk on it.  
"Sorry dear," She cooed gently, manipulating the blood that was running down her arm to form a swirling ribbon of blood that outlined her left arm in a drill-like fashion, "Blood control may be your forte, but no one controls my blood but me."  
At that moment something akin to true fear grew on the villain's face, which left Ember grinning as she jumped forward, her blood sharpening as she raised the arm that clutched her dagger, preparing to plunge it into Worm Face's chest.  
Skin split satisfactorily as her dagger bounced off one of the villain's ribs, shattering it while her blood blade acted differently, it snaked around the man's ribs till it was through and had punctured him squarely in the lung. Blood spilled from his lips as he coughed, but Ember wasn't done with him just yet.  
"You think you are some avenging angel, don't you?" She hissed, lifting Worm Face off the ground with her blood, "Taking the lives of hero's who you deem to be unworthy, thinking you have the ultimate right to judge sinners, no matter what steps they have taken to get better, or how true their motives are."  
The man was smashed against the ground as their onlookers trudged away quickly, apparently they had decided that it was in their best interest to leave before things got any worse.  
Ember slipped off her mask as she continued staring up at the man, "Well, let me tell you something, you may judge, but I am here to judge the judgers, and I've found you lacking. Blood Control: Evaporate."  
Worm Face writhed in Ember's grip but was unable to get away as every drop of blood in his body evaporated, an expression of pure agony filling his face as he lacked the ability to scream, blink, or even breath as his evaporated blood poured from his mouth in a stream.  
His dried husk of a body crashed to the ground along with some of Ember's blood as she stared impassively at the situation. There was no reason for her to stick around, seeing as how the hero's would be showing up any time soon. Perhaps that was a tad bit extreme of her, but his self righteous mindset was getting under her skin.  
Add to that the fact that Ember had been looking into that idiot for a while now and she had every reason to kill him.  
She certainly wasn't a hero, but that didn't mean she had her own standards... Humanity in general was filled with scum, but if she didn't step in, then who would clean up the worst of them?  
As Ember vanished into the night the pro heroes arrived onto the scene, bringing with them the teenagers who had watched her fight. They were understandably shaken after having seen the beginnings of a violent murder, but there were a few things prominently on their minds. Like how this girl had burst onto the scene and within five minutes had completely taken out an enemy that they struggled with. The look in her eyes when she announced she wasn't a hero was chilling enough, but she was one who was hard to forget.  
Stain's ideology may be terrifying since it was so close to the truth, but this new player was able to incite more fear in them than they thought possible.  
***  
The dark forest was filled with the happy voices of teenagers relaxing after a taxing day filled the air and reached the solemn figure perching on a large branch. The fact that she had managed to find this place without getting lost was a miracle in and of itself, but there was no time for her to relax.   
Normally she would be in the city, watching the stars, as she always enjoyed doing at night, but when she heard through the grape vine that the League of Villains were planning on attacking this class of high schoolers, she just had to intervene. Mainly because she was still itching to mess with hand job, but also because attacking students was a stupid thing to do.  
Her ability to count heartbeats in this situation was incredibly useful, she could sense two distinct groups, one that must have been the students, and the other that was likely the so called 'vanguard' for the LOV, a small task force of 8. It was a well put together group that Ember knew more about than she cared to because of her recent research and if Ember hadn't been here, they likely would have stood a much better chance of succeeding.  
Perhaps that was a bit cocky of Ember, but she had earned her frightening reputation, killing anyone who she didn't like. The public had taken notice of her as well after the whole Stain incident, which was a pain in her ass, because now she saw posters declaring different groups opinions of her every time she went to the store to get milk.  
A frown grew on her face as she remembered one little kid handing out flyers to people petitioning to get her crimes appealed. What sick fuck was involving a child in this? She murdered people, which was hardly a child friendly topic, that poor idiot was going to grow up with some seriously warped ideas of the world.  
Before long she was pulled out of her inner world by the hint of a gas hitting her. For the most part her blood would reject any foreign toxin, but she really didn't want to take the risk, jumping down from the tree and making her way to the large group of kids.  
As she grew close, the sounds of happy chatter changed rapidly to screams of terror as fighting erupted. The group of 8 had spread out through the forest and now they were engaging hero's, though the sound of clanging metal drew her towards one of the fights.  
Yes, Ember probably would be of more help going to the fire guy and taking him out, or even the muscle man, who seemed to have made his way to two isolated heartbeats, but the clanging drew her attention. Before long, and her only falling into one ravine, Ember stumbled into a clearing that had her gasping in surprise at the fight was going on.  
Yes, several people there seemed to be dressed up as cats, but it was the main villain there that really got her attention. A scaly reptilian person stood in the center of the clearing with a giant abomination in his hands.  
Unable to stop herself, Ember stomped into the clearing, checking to see if her mask was on firmly, before she grabbed the idiot's shoulder, "What the fuck did you do to your swords?"  
Indeed, the idiot's 'sword' was made up of probably fifty smaller swords that had been chained and welded together to form one giant sword like creation. Ember's eyes were wide in horror as she looked at his Frankenstein-like creation, "How could you ruin so many perfectly good weapons?"  
If one didn't know Ember, they likely would have thought she was on the edge of tears... And they would be right. Her blades were her children, she treated them as though they were the most important things in the world, so it was no wonder that she was upset by this.  
The villain didn't even have time to respond before Ember had pulled her own long sword out and slashed at the man, "Do you even realize how stupid that thing is? The advantages the come from swords is the fact that they are quick enough to maneuver fluidly and shar enough to penetrate armor. You have negated both advantages of your weapon, which renders your stupid invention useless!"  
The heroes and students alike all stood back and stared as the new player continued to lecture the reptilian man as she fought him. Yes, there was certainly more important things to worry about, but this was so unexpected that it took a nomu bursting onto the scene for them to come out of their trance. Just what the hell was happening here?  
By the time the night ended, Ember had fled the scene, straight up ignoring Eraserhead when he came to aid everyone else. Surprisingly, her opponent was still alive, which was rare for her, but his weapon was gone, disappeared into thin air.  
Several days later, a large amount of swords were sold to different weapon shops, all bearing the marks of having been welded at some point. It became a bit of an industry mystery, especially since all of them had been painstakingly repaired. The craftmanship was incredible, even if it made no sense why these blades had been so badly treated in the first place.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Sooo... I mentioned that this would be a more light hearted chapter, but I have no chill, so it's not... Oops.  
Also, once again, I have no idea if this whole thing made any sense, from my perspective it was all over, so forgive that! I'll be back to my regularly scheduled program next week, so yeah... see you then  
-klypso01  
P.S. Raise your hands if you think that Spinner's sword monster in MHA made No *clap* God *clap* Damn *clap* Sense *clap*!


	33. Shirotsume

The trains that ran towards Era were slow and crowded, two things that I hated more than anything else in life, even if I had accepted them as being something I would deal with every day. Thankfully though, despite that sobering fact I was able to get lost in the passing scenery. It certainly wasn't that I enjoyed the train ride, there were far too many screaming children for me to say that, it was more the fact that I didn't hate it as much as I could have.  
There were simply too many things for me to focus on to care about the fact that a toddler next to me was drooling on my arm as it attempted to see what it repeatedly christened as the "Pretty butterflies." I also didn't have the heart to break it's heart by giving in and allowing it to see the corpses of several trapped moths that had drawn its attention.  
By the time the train stopped I was the first one out of my seat, as I decided that waiting for the passenger car to empty was not something I cared to do... The window was my quickest option, so out I went, earning myself several shocked yells from both sides of the train as I landed gracefully.   
Needless to say, the platform guards were not happy with my little stunt.  
It wasn't until a highly exasperated Lahar made his way down to the platform to retrieve me that I was released with a stern warning that any further actions of a similar nature would 'not be tolerated' while I was in Era. Thankfully, I was able to contain my scoff at that until Lahar and I were a safe distance away.  
"Are they new?" I asked cheerfully as I nudged my companion, referring to the guards who were behind us."  
A long-suffering sigh forced itself from Lahar as he looked at me from the corner of his eye, "I heard there was a rather major disturbance in Magnolia a few days ago, would you by chance happen to have heard anything similar." And now I had irritated him enough that he was just completely ignoring my question."  
Once again, the events of the Magnolia festival intruded as I ignored him just as well as he did to me (no doubt, that was his intention), and we walked the rest of the way to his office in silence. Sure, he was a good guy, but there wasn't a funny bone in his body...  
I couldn't help but smirk as we walked by what had formerly been the council building; Manipubitch had done a good job on the whole thing, as even now there were still large piles of rubble that were waiting to be cleared away. Just looking around at the town showed that the economy had dipped since then. There were fewer stalls in the streets and the few civilians I did see had looks of fear in their eyes that I knew hadn't been here before.  
Normally, I loved to put on a happy mask while I was here, as that was the one that got under the council's skin the most, but my happy smile dropped quickly as I saw just what state Era was in. "Things have been bad here, haven't they?" I asked quietly as we approached the Rune Knight's main office, my eyes glued to a couple walking down the street hand in hand.  
Lahar barely glanced over his shoulder at the couple I was looking at, whose hands were entwined just a little to tightly for it to be out of love or as a show of protection. Their knuckles were white, and they walked quickly, afraid to be out in the open for too long.  
"Terrorist attacks always have this effect." Lahar said simply as he opened the door and ushered me in. It was obvious that this was nothing new, Lahar had seen this before, "It will return to normal in a few more months."  
I followed Lahar into the building pondering this, fear was an interesting thing, and yet humans overcame it so easily when given time. The center of their city had been pulled down by an insane lady who was out to help resurrect Zeref and while no one had been hurt, this entire town had shifted its way of life.  
Were... Were my assassinations followed by the same response? Did couples walk through the streets filled with fear after my mark was seen? A bloom of guilt hit me hard and I could do nothing but avert my gaze from all the officers that I could see trying to help in their own ways. I was the cause of fear, even now to this day.  
As soon as we walked into Lahar's office, the door snapped shut behind me, forcing my mind to leave the past, no matter how little I wanted to right now, I needed time to internalize this new information.  
"Once again, I really must thank you for coming to help us Ember," Lahar said in his most business-like tone, walking around his desk and gesturing for me to take a seat across from him.  
I sat in the winged armchair without any further prompting, "To be fair, you didn't really give me a chance to say no. What was it, thirteen calls on my private lacrima?"  
It seemed that Lahar was aware of how his actions had come off as he looked away from her with a hint of red touching his ears, "Yes, and I am sorry about that. However, this was a job that needed to be taken care of... decisively and without mercy, I suppose. I have been investigating the matter for several months now and it isn't something that the Rune Knights can get involved with after the disaster with the Tower of Heaven, especially with such little evidence."  
That certainly made sense, though I couldn't help the snarky grin that spread across my face at that, "So you're hiring me as an under the table mercenary then?" Lahar's face twisted unpleasantly at that and I couldn't help but chuckle. In the entire time I had known him, Lahar had abhorred the word mercenary, so this moment was made all the more amusing.  
"No, it is a Rune Knight policy to never deal with mercenaries." I nodded at this, it was pretty much what I expected, but his next words certainly caught me off guard, "I thought you knew Ember, you joined the list of official Rune Knight operatives many years ago."   
My breath hitched in my throat and I found myself choking on nothing as Lahar simply sat there with the smallest ghost of a smile as he watched me struggle, "I what?"  
It was official, the bastard was mocking me, the smile that continue to grow by miniscule increments told me so, "Yes, you've been on our records ever since the first time you helped us. It's nothing major, you're simply on a short list of people we can contact when jobs require something we cannot provide because of our policies or other issues."   
All I could do was nod dumbly as I tried to scoop my jaw up off the floor, I knew that the Rune Knights had their hands tied in a lot of situations, but I had no idea about any list of names, I wasn't sure whether I should be proud or annoyed... Though, now I was slightly leaning towards the latter.  
"So you know, I'll have a partner joining me on whatever mission you have for me, depending on how difficult it will be." I managed to get out after a few moments, and thankfully, my tone was level, showing nothing of my momentary slip.  
Lahar nodded thoughtfully, "Yes, I suspected you would say that, I approve of Mr. Dreyer being your partner, so long as he doesn't lose control again. This job, while perfect for someone with your level of experience tracking people down, will more than likely be difficult. Do you officially accept the job?"  
A small lacrima on his desk flashed green as I nodded, which he then grabbed and tapped several times to activate, "This lacrima contains all the information that we can give you on your mission, which will be to locate and alert the Rune Knights to the location of the guild Novus Ordo."  
My eyes sharpened as I heard that name, the past was long since gone, but once I bothered to learn the name of anything, I never forgot it. "Are you sure the name was Novus Ordo?" I asked, my voice barely above a hiss as I watched Lahar intently.  
"Yes," He pushed his glasses up as his gaze sharpened almost as much as mine had, "May I ask how you know the name? I was under the impression that it had been forgotten, seeing as how it had bee-"  
Abruptly I stood and held out my hand for the lacrima, "-Destroyed years ago, yes, I'm aware." The look that Lahar sent me was telling, but I payed it no mind as I grabbed the lacrima from his hand, "So you just want me to look into them then send in the calvary when I get enough evidence? This sounds like it will be a walk in the park."  
"Don't judge it so quickly," He said, lacing together the tips of his fingers, "People have started to go missing in the surrounding area, so as far as the Council is concerned, this new threat is already on the verge of becoming a dark guild. It would be unwise to underestimate them."  
I sent him a smirk before turning to walk to the door, not allowing him to see how my expression dropped and shadows covered my eyes, "I thought you knew me better than that, Lahar. You don't have to worry about me underestimating them because I have every intention of doing this my way."  
With that I swept out if the office, my enhanced hearing allowing me to hear Lahar mutter out one final thing.  
"Ember, that's precisely what scares me."  
***  
Down the street from the Rune Knights headquarters a building shook as the dull crash echoed through the air. My entire body was shaking, and it wasn't because of the fact that my fist was planted firmly into a newly formed crater in the wall.   
Novus Ordo was the only hit that I had been given as an assassin that caused me to lose control... The things I saw there as an eight-year-old were things that should never be seen. After that, I promised myself that I would never allow that shit to happen again, yet only three years later it rose again, and again it was back. It truly was the definition of a monster that grew a head back every time one was cut off.  
The Rune Knights wanted me to simply pin the guild's location down, but I already knew that that wouldn't happen. I was in this for blood, and no amount of reprimands would stop me.  
Slowly, I extracted my hand from the brick wall and forced myself to walk away, no doubt that if I had punched much harder, I would have reduced the wall to rubble. The cuts on my hands stung, but that was nothing compared to the chaos that was my mind right now, I wanted nothing more than to run to the town and kill every member of that cursed guild that I could find, but that would definitely be the wrong approach.  
I activated the lacrima that held my mission's information as I reached for the second lacrima that was around my neck as always. I needed someone else to be there with me, if for no other reason than to act as an impediment to me going on a blood crazed frenzy.  
After only a moment, the lacrima's call connected and a grumpy voice echoed across the line, "This had better be good, Coal Head, I'm busy." I couldn't help but smile as I heard the familiar voice, it seemed that he was back to normal after everything, but I knew him better than that.  
"Busy doing what, Spark Plug?" I asked mockingly, ignoring the small growl that echoed over the line, "Do you really think you can fool me of all people? You forget how well I know you."  
A few nearly intelligible words broke through in a slight slur as he managed to get a few coherent words out, "I do important shit all the time, so fuck you bitch."  
Talking to Laxus really was good for my head, he was already helping to distract me from the murderous rage I had been feeling only moments before, "You can do that later, doll face." I crooned and only a moment later I could hear him coughing violently, "No, right now I'm betting that you're sitting in a bar, trying to get shit-faced drunk but failing miserably because it takes a lot of expensive hard liquor to get you to the point you want."  
Silence was the best answer I could have possibly gotten as my grin continued to spread the longer, he was quiet, "I'm right, aren't I?"  
"What do you want, Ember?" He said, his tone remarkably different from how it had been before, as now it held a sigh of resignation that told me that I won.  
I held back a chuckle as I answered him, knowing that if I pushed too far, he would not be afraid to hang up on me, "Oh, nothing much, I just wanted to check in, see how you're doing, and ask if my partner wants to join me for my first case?" At first, I could practically feel him losing his patience, but by the end he had completely lost it and began sputtering as the sound of something raining filtered to me.  
This truly did cause me to laugh out loud, he was shocked, which was a side of him that I rarely got to see, "Relax man," I forced out between chuckles, "I'm asking you to join me on a mission, not telling you that you're the father!"  
"This isn't funny!" He roared from the other side, which had me leaning against a building as I tried to control myself.  
"No, no, of course not, it isn't at all funny that you just sprayed beer everywhere."  
"Ember." His voice held a warning that I absolutely could have ignored, but I needed to be going soon, so it would probably be beneficial to get this done with.  
My hand worked its way through my knotted hair as I sighed heavily, "Fine, do you want to help out?" I asked while starting to make my way towards the train station.  
Now that I was serious, I could practically feel him calming down slightly, "I don't know, I'm pretty busy right now, it could be difficult for me to get away. What's the mission?"  
It was actually painful for me to not comment on how busy he must be as I bit down on my tongue hard enough to draw blood simply to not blurt out whatever was in my head, "It's a search and destroy mission, one with lots of targets who all deserve to have their asses kicked. You want in?"  
He was silent for a moment as he thought through what I had told him, "Did the Rune Knights tell you to take everything out, or is this personal?" I knew Laxus better than almost anyone, it was easy to see that he knew me just as well, he was observant when he wanted to be and knew how connect the dots... A terrifying guy, though he would probably say the same about me.  
I smiled slightly as the train station came into view, "It's a bit of both, you remember the first job we did together?"  
This was not a conversation that I wanted to be brought into the public eye, so I leaned against a wall of the train station, keeping an eye out for anyone who got close.  
"How could I forget it, it had to do with all the kidnappings near your place, right?"  
We were both in business mode at this point, even if one of us was more than a little drunk, "Yeah, the guild who caused that is back and I have every intention of putting them in the ground once more."  
He didn't argue with me, it would have done him no good and he knew it. After a brief moment and a deep sigh, Laxus finally answered, "Okay, fine, I'll help you. Where is all this going down?"  
Once again, I pulled up the lacrima, as that a one bit of information that evaded me on my first look through. As soon as the name popped up a grimace crossed my face, "You know, I'm not sure I believe this... I think you'll appreciate the poetic irony of this location."  
He hummed slightly, indicating for me to go on, "All this has been happening in Shirotsume, that name ringing any bells?"  
"Shirotsume? Yeah, it sounds familiar... I'm not sure why tho-"  
Laxus cut himself off before he cursed, "Is that really where everything has been happening? Are you sure this is a good idea, Coal Head? You did get beaten here after all."  
I shrugged, though that fact did get under my skin, "It's not like we have a choice, now do we? After all, this is where I beat you for the first time as well, if I remember correctly. We both have a bad track record with this place."  
A chuckled swelled over the connection, the first one I had heard in quite some time, "True, I suppose Shirotsume it is, this will be a regular blast to the past."  
The small talk continued for a few minutes, but eventually I needed to get going, Laxus said it would take him several days to get there from his current location, but I had a feeling that he simply wanted time to get rid of his hangover before starting a mission. Not that I was about to complain, Hungover Laxus was not a person I liked being around.  
I, on the other hand, could make it to Shirotsume within the day, so I had already made plans to make a few stops along the way, grab supplies, and stop at popular gossip locations to get hints. There was much to do, and little time to do it in...  
It certainly may have seemed like I was procrastinating, which was only partially true... I certainly wasn't eager to return to my first botched assassination, even if I did meet Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe there...   
***  
Before I made it to Shirotsume there were a few stops I needed to make first, mainly Gavin's to get more specialized potions (he was absolutely floored when I didn't buy any magic draining potions), but I also had to make a stop at one of my more popular gossip holes. This wasn't needed, but it had been a few years since I had done an in-depth investigation like this and I wanted to cover my bases.  
In fact, by the time I reached Shirotsume night had fallen and people were either retiring for the evening or heading to the bars and taverns that filled some of the less savory streets. My body was screaming out for me to find a hotel, as I had been traveling heavily for several days and even then, I was coming off being electrocuted...   
It was probably fair to assume that I needed my rest, but that would have to wait for the night. I was on a case and those taverns were probably my best bet to get reliable information, rest was for the weak anyways.  
I had to be careful, if I grabbed out a notepad and pen, people would probably start getting suspicious and clam up quickly, so instead I had my pen and a notepad that was slightly hidden in the shadows of the table. It wasn't necessarily the... sneakiest thing I had done, but the people there were already pretty drunk when I showed up, so the only one who had a chance of noticing me was the barkeeper, and he was busy keeping up with the orders of laborers who wanted nothing more than to drown themselves in liquor.  
The waitress grabbed my reluctant order for a beer, and within a minute I had a mug of the foul-smelling amber liquid in front of me. I hated beer on principle, as the taste was terrible, and the alcohol content was far too low to justify the bad taste. Vodka was more up my alley, at least it could get me drunk quick.  
No, for this mission, I needed to stay sober, so beer was the perfect drink, as it would be completely normal for me, an outsider, to sit in the corner and nurse a beer for a long time. I had every intention to move on to another bar if this one didn't turn up good information, but I needed to be patient, it would probably take time for the good gossip to start coming.  
"Hey, Miss! What's a pretty thing like you doing here all alone at this time of night?"   
The heavy sigh that burst from me was completely involuntary, this was a big reason why I hated bars, they were always full of perverts who were too drunk to realize that I wanted to be left well enough alone. A hand gently dropped on my shoulder and I tensed, preparing myself to pretend to be interested and milk him for whatever information he might have.  
Fortunately, "Hey, leave the woman alone, I don't think she wants your attention." A voice stopped the man, who turned to snarl at the new defender, "I don't think so, now how about you go crawl back to your stool, that particular lady is here with me."  
Yes, the voice was too familiar, one that I hadn't heard in years... A shiver raced down my back as I turned to look at the older man who was sending his patent death glare at the one who had been trying to flirt with me.  
"What the hell are you doing here? I spat, not bothering to acknowledge what he had said about him being with me.   
The man casually strolled over and sat, his salt and pepper hair contrasting starkly with his dark skin, which showed several decades of abuse, "I'm hurt Ember, I would have thought you would be happier to see the man that helped to raise you." Despite the cheery tone of his voice, his eyes showed nothing, they were cobalt chips of ice that brought back every memory I had of him standing over me after our training sessions declaring that I was far too weak.  
I cocked an eyebrow as I stared at the man, "Raised me? I believe you and I have very different definitions of that word; yes, you and the mistress saved me from starving, but then you abandoned me two years later after teaching me how to become an assassin. I'd hardly call that raising anyone. And here I was actually hoping that you died in that raid."  
Both of our guards were up, we were ready to jump into action at a moment's notice, but the patrons of the bar seemed to be completely oblivious to this fact. From where I was sitting, the man I only knew as my mentor was the biggest threat here, far worse than any experiment happy guild who were pushing their boundaries.  
A harsh chuckle came from him, which was enough to about send me into a panic attack, "You certainly have become bolder over the years, I suppose that's what made you one of the best assassins of the age, isn't it?"  
I could practically see people tuning in to our conversation as he didn't bother to lower his voice. My hands clenched on my lap and I pushed off the desire to punch him squarely in his ever-smug jaw, he had just ruined any chance I might have had to remain incognito in this bar. I would have no choice but to leave here as soon as our little 'chat' was over.  
"Cut the crap," I managed to get out in an even tone, not wanting to show him that he was getting to me, "There is no way you've risen from the dead after thirteen years simply to reminisce with me. You've never operated that way to begin with so don't try to pull the wool over my eyes."  
All semblance of the friendly front he was putting on faded away as the man before me returned to the intimidating man I had known all too well, "Very well, and here I had hoped that we would be able to catch up. I simply wanted to see how you were doing, both the mistress and I were curious, after all, we heard that you had been caught and forced to join a... light guild." He spat the last two words as though they were the most profane of curses, which to him they would be.  
My hand landed gently on one of my hidden daggers, I doubted he would do anything stupid in this location, both of my mentors valued stealth, but that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous, "And so what if I did?"  
His eyes flicked to my hand, I knew that he had seen my slight movement and likely knew exactly what it meant, he had, after all, helped me to learn a good amount of the tricks that I still used today. "I simply wanted to offer you an out, our guild would be more than happy to take you in again." This time his voice was reserved, now that the topic of conversation was about him of course he would be cautious.  
Despite how serious the moment was, I couldn't stop the snort that escaped me, he had such a high opinion of himself, too bad for him that I couldn't care less, "Oh you're just adorable," I cooed, causing him to glare at me ferociously, "You think that you still control my thoughts and actions like you did all those years ago, don't you?"  
I could see the gears in his head turning as the smallest dash of shock entered his eyes. Good, he was starting to catch on, "Even if you had come to me the day after I had been forced into joining my guild, I still would have told you no," I said venomously as I pulled out a coin to pay for my untouched beer, "You see, you don't just get to abandon me without consequences, now I have people who are worth protecting, people who I will never leave alone. Do what you will, but if you try to mess with Fairy Tail, I can't promise that you'll escape with your lives."  
My mark flashed slightly as I stood, it was impossible to cover, what with it being so high up on my neck and all, and I didn't want to cover it. It showed the world that I was proud of Fairy Tail and most of all, it showed just how serious I was to my former mentor. The sick bastard could go die in a hole for all I cared, but if he hurt anyone I cared about, I would come after him.  
"Oh," I added in just before turning to leave the building, "If you mess with my job here, I will make your life hell, just because I can."


	34. The Calm Before the Storm

Seeing one of my mentors again after all these years was a shock to my system, to be sure, but if I knew my mentor at all, then he was already gone, sunk back into whatever hole he had risen out of in the first place. As much as I wanted to go punch something to help get my feelings out, that wasn't an option, I was on a job and I needed to act like it.  
The next two days were non-stop research as I fleshed out every rumor I could find, which included people who might be involved and supernatural sites that were said to have some connection to the new menace (I won't lie, it was a proud moment when I found a memorial for the man I had killed all those years ago, it was covered in rude graffiti and praises for him dying). As normal, I had to throw out about half of the rumors that were simply someone griping about their irritating neighbor, but I was genuinely surprised how much valid information I found.  
It seemed as though Novus Ordo was just as sloppy now as they had been back them. This was a bunch of sadistic scientists, not strategists, so obviously there were some major slipups like tattoos appearing suddenly on people who everyone knew had no magic and hushed conversations that were overheard from high traffic areas... Yeah, it was a right bunch of overeager idiots that I got to deal with here.  
The only good thing about this situation was the fact that I felt Laxus' heartbeat coming into town not long after a full 48 hours passed. By this point, I was slightly loopy from a lack of sleep but otherwise good.  
I was incredibly grateful for him showing up, as I was now able to break away from the pair of young men who I had been pumping for information and head to the place I was sure he would find me. I mean, why wouldn't he go to the spot where he beat me all those years ago, that was the best place for us to meet.  
It took only a minute or two to walk there, this was a small town and an even smaller area that could actually be considered urban.  
What was truly amazing was the fact that the alleyway still bore several char marks from all those years ago, they were small and hard to see, but I was the reason they were there in the first place, so it was hard to forget. Memories assaulted me, Laxus' furious snarl as he raised his hand to shock me, the sinking feeling I got knowing that I was likely heading to the gallows.  
Yet the adventure it sparked was more than worth the hard points, I wouldn't give Fairy Tail up for all the world.  
I slowly slid to the ground as a soft smile covered my face, if it hadn't been for some pissed off client, I would never have met Spark Plug or anyone else, it really was cool to be back here... Though I couldn't remain in the clouds any longer, I had a job to do.  
Laxus' heartbeat was growing closer, he would be on the scene in only a few minutes, but that was a time I needed to get my notes together and do an initial sorting of all the information I had found. My entire notebook had been filled with information from this case, which was no small feat, it was a really thick notebook.  
Pages were torn out every few seconds as I found redundant information or gossip that could easily be dismissed and that was the state I was in when Laxus finally found his way to me, slumped against the wall with a growing pile of papers tucked under my leg.  
"Well, this is nostalgic for more than one reason," Laxus joked as his large presence filled the alleyway. Unfortunately for him, I was far too absorbed in my task to really pay attention to him, so he tried again, "It reminds me of when times were simpler."  
A wry smile quirked at my lips as I spared him a quick glance, "You consider fights to the death to be nostalgic? I think you've eaten your own lightning one too many times."  
He scoffed as he leaned against the wall next to me, "Maybe not the fact that I was learning how to hide a killer from the Magic Council, that certainly wasn't something I thought I would do... It's more the fact that life was really just a cycle of missions and parties in the guild, we didn't have to worry about politics and power."  
"To be fair," I said quickly before flipping a page, "If it wasn't for a certain someone you still wouldn't have had to worry about that." Lightning bounced off me harmlessly as he realized what I was saying and I could practically feel his eyes trying to bore holes in my head.  
"I didn't need your input Coal Head." He growled.  
With a heavy sigh, I stood and closed my notebook, "Well typically conversations consist of input from both parties, but what do I know." I could feel his rebuttal coming as he grew irritated, "Here."  
The notebook I thrust into his chest stopped him from completely blowing up and I bent back down to gather the pages I tore out. I've mentioned that teasing Laxus was good for my soul, but now was not the best time to indulge myself, we had a case to get into, and I was just about ready to find a hotel room and go to sleep for a solid ten hours... Though that last part was more of a daydream than a reality.  
"Shit Ember," He said quietly after a moment of looking through my notes, "Have you slept at all since you got here? This is not a normal amount of work to be able to get done in only two days."  
I could feel my back pop as I stood up and stretched slightly, "Do I really need to answer that?" He knew how I could get when I got into a case, it wasn't rare for him to lock me in a hotel room until I had gotten at least two hours of sleep if he found that I had been awake for more than twenty-four hours, "The first section is people who were said to be suspicious, the second are places that we should probably look into for their hideout and the third is information on the victims of abduction. There have only been two thus far and one was left on the outskirts of town with no memories of what had happened."  
He hummed in understanding as he got to the end of my notes, "We'll start the case tomorrow, you need sleep and there are things we need to talk about aside from the fact that you have a freakish ability to dig up information."  
We began walking back towards the main road, though he was temporarily stopped by me elbowing him harshly into the wall, "You forget that I could kick your ass any day of the week when it comes to sleuthing, why else would the council hire me?"  
Far from offending the big idiot, Laxus simply chuckled as he rubbed the area I hit, "Maybe because you're fucking terrifying when you get focused on something?"  
I glared at him for a moment or two, but he was utterly unaffected, so I simply focused on walking, "Well, you're going to be grateful for my freakish tendencies when we don't have to comb the whole city over tomorrow while we pin down clues."  
A large hand grabbed my elbow as I was steered down the main road, right towards a rather gloomy looking ramen shop, "Oh? So you think you've already solved this case, do you? I'd be impressed if you hadn't practically destroyed your body to do it."   
He opened the door for me, letting off an annoying chime as we stepped in, "Don't give me that look Coal Head," He muttered as he looked around the shop for anyone, ignoring my irritated glances, "We need to talk and I doubt you've eaten since you left Magnolia."  
An over-worked cook stuck his head out of the serving window, "What do you want?" A heavy scowl was on his face as he watched us suspiciously.  
"Wow, what a friendly place," I couldn't help but mutter as Laxus' hand tightened around my elbow. If there was one thing Laxus hated, it was being treated with disrespect, "I thought it was obvious that we were here for food." I responded, placing my hand over Laxus', now was not the time for a brawl, "Can we sit wherever, or should we just leave now?"  
The cook grumbled in irritation as he pulled his head back, waving dismissively, "Fucking young people and their disrespect... Sure, they want me to cook for them, clean up after them, and yet they can't manage a single please or thank you."  
That wasn't all he said, but everything else was all right along those lines, so I took the cue to tug Laxus along behind me as I moved to sit at a random table, "Nice place you chose Sparky, you certainly know how to treat a girl."  
Laxus nodded, sending one last glare at the kitchen, "I remembered it from the last time the Thunder God tribe and I were here... It was nicer then."  
My eyebrow cocked all on its own as I took that lovely bit of information in, "You realize that was over ten years ago, right? That's a long fucking time for restaurants."  
That fact probably hadn't occurred to him, if the way a slight hint of red touched his ears as he stood to go order was any indication. "Beef good?" He asked though I knew that he already knew my answer.  
"I don't care, just get me the biggest bowl they offer."  
He nodded quickly before walking over to the window. I could see small sparks of lightning trailing behind him, he was well and truly worked up. Slowly I eased back in my seat as I smiled at Laxus, who was currently having one hell of a time keeping his tone even, it had been too long since I'd done a mission with anyone, so the fact that he could pull me out of my intense concentration was refreshing.   
Normally, I would just keep working until I had beaten down whatever I was supposed to but, despite the fact that I had one hell of a story to tell Laxus, it was nice to stop for a moment.  
A flash from the window caught my attention which wiped the small smile I had right off my face. I couldn't make it obvious as I leaned forward and caught the slightest glimpse of a body leaving the scene hurriedly.   
My eyes narrowed as I stared at the place our spy had been. He wasn't there for long, there was no way my instincts would have failed me that badly, but still... He had been here for us...  
Was he perhaps sent here by my mentors?  
If that was the case, then I shouldn't have too much to worry about, I could deal with the spy all on my own if need be, but. Though I was worried by the fact that I noticed them at all... As odd as that sounds, I highly doubted that my mentors would send someone inept to come keep an eye on us... It was still the most likely option, but for some reason, it didn't sit well with me.  
I was close to just getting up and tailing our tail but that thought was quickly erased by the footlong bowl that was set unceremoniously in front of me, "The guy's a dick but he knows how to give good sized portions."  
Laxus set a similarly huge bowl in front of his chair and dropped heavily into his seat, "You look like someone just threatened Ever, what's up?" I hadn't even realized it, but I could feel the tension running through my whole body as I prepared to spring into action.  
There was nothing that I could do now, even if I were to run out there and give chase, the man had enough of a head start that he should be impossible to track. Instead of acting, I took a deep breath and focused on loosening each part of my body before grabbing my spoon and digging in.   
"We were being followed." I murmured around a mouthful of food shooting Laxus a meaningful glance.  
Thankfully, Laxus wasn't one to lose his head over something as small as this so he simply nodded and dug into his food, "Do you have any idea who it could have been?"  
This ramen was really good... I would never tell Laxus that he was right, but his memory was a better guide than I would have thought.  
"It's either a tail because our target picked up on the fact that I've been digging or someone from my past who showed up recently."  
Laxus nodded as he contemplated a mushroom, "So you're the most likely target either way then?"  
"Yeah, I could be wrong but the timing for all of this has been really coincidental... I don't trust it."  
He simply nodded before grabbing another spoonful, "Speaking of coincidental timing, I think it's about time you tell me what exactly happened with the thunder palace."  
It's amazing, I honestly hoped he would forget about that so the instant he asked, I could feel my heart sinking. It was unfortunate, but there was no way he'd forget about it now... Laxus was one of the few people that I would actually be okay with telling my secret, so why did I feel so... Scared?  
I took a steeling bite of my beef ramen before I could bring myself to meet his eyes, "It's a long story, but I guess the best way to start is that I actually do have magic."  
The colors in the room slowly shifted as I told my story, unlike with the Old Man, I left out none of it, Laxus got every gory detail about my blood magic and how my whole family was dead because of me (I left out the part about my mentors simply because I didn't want Laxus to become a target if he knew more than he should).  
Bringing up most of this stuff was difficult, these were memories that had already been dredged up too much lately, in my opinion. Yet, Laxus took it like a champ. I could see his eyes widening at certain points in my story, but for the most part, he kept quiet and had a neutral expression on his face, which made the story so much easier to tell. At one or two points I could feel the cook listening in, but a few carefully placed words and actions were enough to ward him off for the most part.  
By the time I finished Laxus had moved on from looking rather shell shocked to having a grimace on his face, "Wait..." He started out quietly, but I could see a fire building in his eyes as he moved aside his now empty bowl, "Does that mean that the bracelets we were all depending on to keep you in line were useless?!"   
This conversation was officially giving me flashbacks to when I told Makarov about all this, which was both unsettling and terrifying, the hand that was not occupied with the spoon snaked down to bite into my legs as I took a deep breath and smiled sheepishly, "Well, yes... It was a shock to me as well, I thought for sure they would work."  
Sparks of electricity flared around us and I physically had to restrain myself from jumping out of my chair and running for the hills, "Well then, why did you stay?" His voice was calm, to the point of being bored.  
It took a moment to scoop my jaw up off the floor, but when I did I immediately turned to question him, "Everything I just told you and that's what you ask? What the hell do you mean by that?!"   
I was so close to smacking that idiot, but I forced myself to stop, we were both fairly high strung, so if I hit him that would likely lead to a fight that neither of us could afford to have, especially when we were trying to fly below the radar.  
"Calm down Coal Head," He said smugly as he leaned back in his chair with all the confidence in the world, "I was just wondering why you stayed with us when you obviously had the option to leave and go back to doing whatever the hell you wanted."  
That was a question that I hardly needed to think about, I had already been considering it since the first time Makarov brought it up, "Why would I?" It seemed as though that vague answer wasn't nearly enough, so I elaborated, "You took me in when I thought I was headed straight to the noose, it was not a fun feeling to know that my life was in the hands of children, but that meant nothing when I looked at how you treated me."  
"For the first time in my life, I was an equal, I wasn't a scary monster and I wasn't a lesser being created only to fulfill my mentors' wishes. Even if all of you were wary of me, you still took me in and gave me a chance. Why would I leave that to go back to the life of an assassin?"   
It appeared that that was all it took to rob Laxus of his words, we sat in silence for a few more minutes as I continued to sip at the broth in my bowl. Now that my stomach was full, I wanted nothing more than to find a place to lay down and pass out. Yeah, we had a job to finish, but we wanted to wait for the next day anyways, so what was the harm in a... quick... nap?  
Just as I was about to faceplant into the table, I was grabbed by the shoulders and lifted out of my chair, "How many times do I have to tell you that normal humans need sleep? Fuck Ember, where would you be if I weren't around?"  
He quickly slung me over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes before dropping a few coins onto the table and walking out, looking for all intensive purposes like he was attempting to kidnap me...  
"Not around?" I murmured out, only half coherent, "I'd be dead."  
The man beneath me stiffened for a moment before sighing heavily, "Why do you always jump to the darkest conclusion, Coal Head?"   
"Easy, assassins don't have good life spans as it is, being the best... makes it all just that much... shorter. We burn brightly for a moment and die out just as quickly." I adjusted my position on his shoulders, getting closer to his ear, "They're following us again, Spark Plug, I could go after them now, but... I'm tired."   
He groaned slightly at that, "Maybe if I drop you, you'll wake up."  
It was only a moment after he spoke that I had managed to react, "Do it and you'll be the first person I kill today, got that?" My dagger was resting comfortably at his throat, I may be exhausted, but I was also trained to go for much longer than this, my reaction speed was only slightly impaired by my state. "Anyways, it might be a good idea to let them tail us for a bit, see if we can get any clues from them."  
Laxus adjusted his course as a hotel came into view, "Easy there, Coal Head, save your daggers for someone who is actually intimidated by them, my last plan failed pretty badly, so I'll follow your lead on this one. If you think that letting some idiot follow us around is a good idea, then so be it."  
Unfortunately, I couldn't fall asleep in the open, so I was stuck lying as still as possible while Laxus got us checked in. My instincts were telling me that I needed to make sure this place was secure, but even though Laxus' shoulders were uncomfortable, in that moment there was nowhere else I would rather be.  
Oh god, that was way to cheesy, perhaps I would get up from his shoulders just so I could gag myself.


	35. The Hunt Begins

Consciousness fled basically as soon as my head touched the bed and I remained out like a light for the next eight hours. It would have been longer, but I was still on a mission, so my body wouldn't let me stay down. Honestly, I would have been good to just leave and get to work, but Laxus was MIA from the time I woke up.  
Normally, that wouldn't have been an issue, but we had only gotten one room and Laxus hated getting up early for any reason. Sure, he tended to wake up randomly in the middle of the night and wander around our base (He scared the shit out of Freed once), but that was about it... However, if that was the case, then why didn't I feel his heartbeat?  
From the moment I woke up, he had been missing, which meant that either Laxus had decided to leave town while I was asleep, which would certainly lead to me murdering him later, or something was wrong.  
It doesn't take a genius to know which option I was going with.  
A deep-seated fear lodged itself in my gut as I hurriedly got changed and grabbed my weapons. There was no real distinct reason why, but it felt I like was on the verge of hyperventilating, o I may have been a little overzealous with my weapons, especially the hidden daggers. Some major shit was probably going to go down today and I refused to be underprepared.  
By the time 5 am rolled around, I was already in the process of searching the hotel for any evidence to back my theory, though there was little to find as I hadn't been the most observant the night before. I was about to give up when I noticed the hotel concierge giving me an awkward look, which led to me finding the best clues I could have asked for.  
"Hello there," I said brightly as I sidled up to counter, "There hasn't been a big blond guy roaming the area, has there? He's got a nice scar over one eye and a personality that is bigger than his shoulders so he's pretty hard to miss."  
I had to give it to this guy, he was a good liar, his face didn't miss a beat as he returned my smile and shook his head, "No, Ma'am. Though I did just start my shift, so it's possible that I missed him." If his heart rate hadn't picked up, I actually might have believed the poor man.  
My elbows rested on the counter as I leaned closer to the man, who was definitely beginning to sweat, "Oh really?" My eyes darted around to the desk and a grim smile crossed my face, "If that really is the truth, then alright, but you should know that I'm investigating a case for the Rune Knights and he's my partner. I'm already suspecting foul play, so if it turns out that you were hiding information from me then I'll be very... Put out."  
I genuinely felt bad for the guy, no doubt he had been threatened to keep his silence, but that didn't mean I was going to go easy on him.  
"Are you threatening me?" The concierge said indignantly, though his voice rose about an octave while doing so.  
Quickly I dropped the grin and tilted my head as I stared at him menacingly, "Oh no, I would never do that, I'm simply asking you to consider your options carefully. Whose bad side you want to be on at the end of the day?"  
For a moment there was silence, but the longer we maintained eye contact, the more color the man lost as he seemed to realize that I was not kidding around. His heart was going a mile a minute and that pace only seemed to increase the longer we sat there.  
"Please," He finally choked out as he sagged down against the counter, "I have a family, I can't... Can't afford to..." The words caught in his throat and he looked down at the table, swallowing heavily, "They threatened my family, please don't make me tell you anything."  
It was a sad feeling to break people, a sobering moment of realization that they feared you more than whatever was keeping their silence and it hit me like a brick. Unfortunately for him, I needed the information, "I can't promise that your family will be completely safe, but if you tell me, then I will do everything in my power to hunt these people down and stop them."  
His head bowed as he stared at the floor, "N-no, I'm sorry, my... My family means t-to much to me."  
The unsettled feeling in my gut tripled as he spoke to the point where it was physically painful. Instead of showing the sudden strain, I chose to snap; my hand flew to my belt as I pulled out a dagger. My other hand reached forward blindly until I gripped the front of his shirt, I practically dragged him across the counter as the tip of my dagger rested firmly against his throat.  
"Are you sure about that? I think your family would want you to come home tonight, don't you?"  
For a moment, his heart stopped before he began to struggle, "Please, no! Don't do this!"   
My voice was barely recognizable as I growled into his ear, "Then tell me what I want to know."  
That was the last bit of encouragement he needed, "It was that new guild that people talk about joining! There was a bunch of big men who walked through here with the guy rolled up in a rug!" I could tell the instant I cut him as a bead of blood began to run down my blade and he whimpered, "I don't want to die!"  
That answered one thing, but I needed just a little bit more, "Did you recognize any of them? Anything that would point me in their direction?"  
"No!"   
His heart, while already beating at a worrying rate, sped up just a little bit more telling me that he was holding back again, "Try again."  
I could feel the blood drip down my fingers as the blade continued to cut into his neck, "Circe! On-ne of the people worked for Circe at her second-hand store! I beg you!"  
Without another word I dropped the man to rest on the counter, my eyes looking down at him unforgivingly, two chips of blood that had been frozen. This was a familiar sensation, one that I used to wear like a cloak back when I was an assassin. Normally I would try to reassure the sobbing mess in front of me, but the slight shift was enough to completely remove any empathy.  
The door rang as I walked out, murder written in both my face and my steps as I walked towards the place that I had been pointed towards. Laxus was being held by Novus Ordo for an unknown reason and I was going to get them back. I could barely feel anything at the moment, but there was one thing I knew for sure: If those fuckers had hurt Laxus in the slightest...  
I would slaughter them all without mercy.  
***  
Circe's Second Hand Shop, as it was so imaginatively named, was easily found near the center of town. It had been one of the locations that I had flagged during my initial investigation because of the rumors that had been going around about it. Apparently, secret meetings were held there and everyone and their dog attended... Or at least, that's what the rumors would have you believe.  
As it was, this was a fairly ordinary looking shop, with nothing ornate to draw attention to it and a simple sign stating it's hours above the door. The inside was just as boring, racks of merchandise laying around and clothes hanging in another section. I couldn't help but cringe as I walked in though, the inside smelled like it had been run by a mothball loving grandma... If that grandma was also a drug dealer.  
The people inside the store weren't much better, there was a definite suspicious aura hanging around the place and a majority of the 'attendants' were barely able to conceal the fact that they were carrying large weapons.   
Don't get me wrong, I was still in the zone to kill, but that didn't mean I wasn't internally facepalming at how bad this whole 'secret operation' was. No wonder the rumor mill was so detailed here, the brains behind this whole thing were idiots.  
I could feel a distinct change in the air as I fully walked into the shop, several of the customers looked at each other warily before making a hasty exit while the attendants all stiffened visibly, It was true that I could just go in guns blazing, but I could tell that Laxus wasn't here, so that meant that I still needed information.  
"Excuse me?" I said politely, pasting a happy mask on over the seething rage as I approached one of the attendants, "I was wondering if you could help me."  
The attendant smiled warmly, but the way the smile didn't reach his eyes betrayed the fact that he was on guard, "Yes, of course, ma'am, is there anything specific you were looking for?"  
I waved dismissively as my smiled stretched just a little more, not quite crossing over into the realm of being creepy, "Oh no, I don't need anything specific, don't worry, I was just looking for my companion! He's tall, has a scar over one eye, and is wider than about three of you, really hard to miss."  
That certainly did it, everyone who was left in the store froze quickly, though they tried to play it off. If that wasn't a dead giveaway, then I didn't know what was. I noticed one of the men ducking into a back room as all of the customers began moving to the edge of the room, watching with anticipation... They needed to leave, I refused to kill in front of innocents.  
After a minute of the man I was talking to stuttering his way through a half-assed explanation, the back door opened again and a woman walked out, followed by a small entourage. That left fifteen people, all of whom were quite obviously armed... So I had fifteen low intelligence opponents to deal with, did I? This wouldn't be an issue.  
Just as I was about to start asking questions, a smell caught my nose which caused me to stop as my entire attention was drawn to one of the men in particular. That scent... For a moment my facade dropped and an immense amount of bloodlust began to leak from me, catching the attention of everyone in the room. The civilians on the edges began to exchange cautious glances, but I was too busy trying to pull myself back together to pay much attention to this.  
"I'm sorry," The woman spoke out, looking at the remaining people, "It appears that we need to shut down for a few minutes to help this woman, I do apologize for the inconvenience, but you are more than welcome to come back later!"  
The other people probably left, but I couldn't bring myself to pay attention to that, my eyes slid shut and I focused on not losing control. "Unbelievable," I muttered quietly, gaining all of their attention.  
As I opened my eyes again, the facade dropping completely as I glared at the woman before me, "May I ask what you are referring to Madam? We are here to help you, after all." She said politely, but her face was about half as cold as mine was... I would have to teach her a thing or two about being menacing while I was here.  
No one had drawn their weapons yet, but it was obvious that they were ready to at the slightest provocation.  
"You know?" I spoke finally, maintaining my stoicism, "I had planned to lead you along as I milked your pathetic group for information, that hardly seems effective now that I know this isn't the main base." Disdain dripped from my voice as I looked at my opponents, "Hell, if you hadn't kidnapped my partner I would have considered letting you live; after all, it is possible that you just went down a bad path. Unfortunately for you, you've already crossed the line."  
That caused everyone in the store to snarl at me as they put their hands on their weapons, "Stop." The woman's voice rang out, showing just who was in charge as the men halted, glaring at me viciously, "I'm sorry, but I don't know what we've done to make you mad at us. Threatening our lives seems a little excessive though, perhaps we can talk this out." Her dimples showed, but her eyes were empty. God, this was just too easy.  
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I not make it clear enough for you?" I asked as I folded my arms, "I'm here because you weren't stealthy enough, Novus Ordo caught the attention of the council and they sent me here." The woman's smile dropped and she opened her mouth to speak, but I simply lifted a finger and cut over her, "My mission really was simple, make sure that you weren't doing anything too dangerous because, after all, you weren't officially a dark guild just yet.  
"Unfortunately for you, the moment I was asked to be on the case, you were doomed, even before you made the mistake of taking the Spark Plug I planned on taking you out. You see," I said as the men drew their weapons and circled around me, "I knew the guild you guys were based on, Novus Ordo, a guild meant for those born without the ability to use magic... One that focused on human experimentation... an abomination."  
The woman chuckled as she stared at me, a spear clutched tightly in her hands as she relished the feeling of having the upper hand, "And you chose to reveal yourself now? As you're surrounded by enemies? Well, I'm sorry to tell you, but your little friend is likely dead, he had something... Valuable that we wanted. Don't worry though, you'll be joining him soon enough."  
All the men surrounding me chuckled along with their boss, though no one chuckled louder than me. Slowly the laughs died as I continued, my bloodlust seeping out with every deranged chuckle. My vision was completely stained red as I held myself, "I-I see, you...You're blinded by the fact that you have swords, aren't you? Heh, oh, this truly is a sight to behold!" Finally, I was able to stand straight as my laughter subsided, though a rather unhinged grin was still spread across my face, "Well then, if that's the case, then go ahead, try to hit me! Go ahead, I'll let you have the first strike!" I spread my arms open in an invitation as a shadow covered my eyes.  
Silence reigned for a moment before one of the men leaned over to the woman, "Uh, boss? A thought occurs. This chick came in here expecting this to be the headquarters, and yet she only brought herself and two swords... I think this might be a trap." Several of the men nodded in agreement with their comrade's words.  
Unfortunately, the woman brushed off his words, "Enough, she is obviously deranged! You are all in full armor and have been training for years!" That didn't seem to alleviate any of their worries, so she sighed heavily and looked down at her spear in irritation, "I can't believe the boss gave me a bunch of imbeciles to lead, How about this? Whoever kills her will get a bonus portion of the next raid."  
That seemed to be all the men needed as they charged forward with angry yells. It was truly unfortunate that they didn't listen to their intuition.  
My enhanced speed meant that even before the first person swung his sword, I was already behind him, then it was a simple matter to dodge and weave through the men, all of whom seemed to be enraged by the fact that none of their swings were making contact.   
Finally, I reached the man who caught my attention in the first place, my hand briefly brushed his belt before he stopped in place and cried out in pain, freezing everyone for a moment as I held up a slightly bloodied hand, that held the dagger that I had plunged into his waist, "Next time you kidnap someone," I snarled, gently pulling Laxus' emergency lacrima off the end of the blade, "Maybe don't wear their confiscated items as jewelry." My magic activated at a silent command and the blood separated into two parts, one much smaller than the other, "There was even blood still on it, how kind of you."  
Aside from the man who was cradling his stab wound, all the others were staring at me in horror, "What the hell are you?" The woman hissed, her spear up defensively.  
The larger ball of blood that was hovering in the air floated to my mouth as I sucked it up, causing even more repulsed looks to be shot my way, "What am I?" I said quietly, feeling my powers shaking at my control, begging to take over, "I'm whatever my family needs me to be. If that means I have to be a grim reaper for now, then so be it."  
"Blood control: Evaporate."   
The man whose blood I had tasted barely had time to scream as his the evaporated blood inside his veins caused his body to bloat, undoubtedly it was incredibly painful, but my eyes were dead as I flicked my wrist and caused the blood to come pouring out of every orifice on his face. The remaining occupants of the room turned to run, but I was quicker as several Blood Clubs™ swirled to cover all the exits. The human body contains quite a bit of blood, so there was more than enough to paint the entire room in a light haze of red.  
"Now let's get back to my original question," I said slowly, advancing towards one of the groups, all of whom were cowering in the corner, "Where is my companion, and what plans does Novus Ordo have for him?"  
I looked straight at the woman, as it was unlikely that any of her lackeys would have that information, "Please don't kill us!" One of the men yelled frantically as I approached. It really was a pity for him that I couldn't really afford to let them live, they were in my way... and if they escaped, my highly visible Fairy Tail mark could get the guild in trouble.  
"You took my friend from me, you will tell me where he was taken from here. Either that or I will drain all of you of your blood slowly and painfully until I find some clue of where to go next. I certainly hope none of you have any family around here."   
The men were already fairly pale from the shock, and at that, all of them lost any remaining color. Deep inside my mind, I could feel a little me screaming for me to stop, to let them go. There had to be another way... Anything would be better than watching their faces turn to the purest form of horror as a true monster among men approached them.  
That moment of mercy hit me hard enough that I stopped in my tracks and forced the haze from my eyes. Without the bias, all I saw in front of me was a bunch of pathetic men who wanted nothing more than to go home at the end of the day.  
"See!" The woman's grating voice called out from the sidelines as she stepped forward from where she had been cowering in the corner, "You hero types are all the same! You swoop in here and proclaim your justice like some avenging angel, but when it comes the hard decisions you don't have the balls to go forward! This is why you will never beat us!" Her speech was punctuated by short bursts of laughter, yet that was all I needed.  
Slowly I took in a deep breath as I looked back up at the men, "Does she have the information I need?" I asked quietly enough that only the men before me could hear, all of whom nodded enthusiastically as they saw their way out. "Good. Leave now before I change my mind, and next time you think about joining a borderline dark guild remember that people like me will come after you."  
The blood that was around the room swirled to my palm, which left the exits open. Immediately, the men ran towards the exit with the woman following right behind them.  
"Blood control: Predator"   
Needless to say, she was just a little too late.  
"Predator: Hunt"  
A Blood Club™ that was about two feet in diameter slammed into her before she could even get within three feet in the door. There was enough blood that her entire body was enveloped and she was lifted off the floor in a rather brutal manner and pulled to me with the barest twitch of my finger, "How about you tell me what I want to know, otherwise I'll make sure your death is as slow and painful as possible."  
With a simple command, the blood receded to allow the woman's head out, "Like you have the guts, you hero type are-"  
The blood reacted to my sharp spike of irritation and constricted to cut off her words, "I wouldn't say that again if I were you, do you not remember the fact that you're being held captive by your own comrade's blood? And don't give me that bullshit about Laxus not being alive, I would know, trust me on that."  
Spit welled up in the back of her throat for a moment before she tried to spit on me, though it fell woefully short and I just stared at her, my patience dwindling. By this point, Laxus had been in Novus Ordo's grip for at least five hours... I shuddered to think of the shit that they were doing to him. It was time for drastic measures.  
The small merciful moment that possessed me to let the others go had long since faded, so I felt no remorse as I commanded the blood to cover her mouth and nose, "Listen and listen well bitch," I growled out as I circled her, "You seem to have fundamentally misunderstood something about me. I am not, nor have I ever been, a hero. I took this job because I have personal ties to Novus Ordo, you see, this is the third time I've had to tear it apart piece by piece."   
Despite the fact that she was struggling to get the blood away from her face so she could breathe, I knew that she could hear me. Her eyes were riveted on me and they were wide as the implications of what I was saying sunk in. "I hope you realize that that means I've been killing members of Novus Ordo for over a decade and I'm more than willing to do it again. Will you tell me what I want to know, or do I have to leave you here?"  
By this time I finished, she was convulsing slightly as she struggled for air but I was pityless, the Ghost of Fiore was back and I was more than willing to allow this woman to drown in blood. right before she passed out due to the lack of oxygen, I caused the blood to recede slightly, allowing her to take in a gulping breath.  
"Y-You can't... Can't kill me." She said almost desperately, "I have... Information that... you need." Her tone was so hopefully desperate that I almost hated to burst her bubble. Almost.  
Without warning, I released control of the blood and dropped her to the floor in an unceremonious heap, "You're half right," I said, pushing her onto her back with the tip of my shoe, "I need you to take me to your base, finding it on my own would be... Problematic. However, I am absolutely planning on killing you, your actions simply decide whether you die quickly or slowly; that's completely up to you."  
The fear in her eyes showed me that she was close to breaking, so I crouched next to her and held up my hand, calling a small amount of the blood that was pooling all over the floor to swirl in my hand, "I'll give you ten seconds to think it over; how many times do you think you can go through that again before I kill you? It could be a lot."  
Her voice rasped slightly as she finally called out, "I'll help you, please... Don't do that again..." And there it was, she was broken.  
I needed nothing else as I stood and dragged her up with me, her limbs barely had the ability to function on their own, so I draped one arm over my shoulder as I pulled her with me, "Very well then, there's no time to waste, is there?"  
The door's bell chimed merrily, a complete oxymoron to the situation as we exited and headed off to find Laxus. It was time that I showed Novus Ordo just how bad of an idea it was to keep gaining my attention.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Okay guys, super dark, I know... What do you all think of this sadistic side of Ember? I personally love it as it shows a small sliver of the turmoil that she deals with all the time.  
Thanks for keeping with me as I've written this and I hope to catch you all in the next instalment!  
-klypso01


	36. Unraveling

If I had been capable of feeling anything at the moment, I would probably be filled with relief that I had decided to spare the irritating woman. While she was still filled with retorts that made her sound like a four-year-old throwing a tantrum, she was at the very least giving me directions as I ever so pulled her through town; studiously ignoring the concerned looks were being thrown by various townspeople.  
It wasn't until I was led to the outskirts of town that I actually began to feel grateful that I kept the annoying woman alive. Yes, I wished that I didn't have to listen to her make snide comments, but as soon as I saw the forest, I knew that I would never be able to find Novus Ordo's hideout on my own.  
There was a slight amount of poetic irony here that I absolutely despised... Screw poetry.  
Despite the obvious drawbacks, there really was no choice but to keep moving on, entering into the trees as I hoped beyond all hope that Laxus would come walking out as a last-ditch effort to save me from getting lost. Even as the town slowly disappeared behind me I continued hoping for that, but there was no luck... Nothing but the trees, and if you haven't picked up on this yet, nature doesn't like me, nor do I like it... It's a mutual dislike.  
Thankfully, the woman didn't pick up on my intense dislike of my situation as she led me through the bushes. I could feel her fuming the entire time, but I could care less about that, there were bigger things for me to worry about, which was topped by the fact that Laxus' presence had been fading slightly.  
It really was odd, normally if I could feel Laxus' presence it meant that I could track him down by his heartbeat; however, there was something blocking me from him. It was vaguely apparent to me that we were getting closer, but it was so subtle that there would have been no way for me to actually track it.  
Just like the last two times, Novus Ordo had turned their hideout into a bit of a rat's nest. I grilled the woman as much as I could as we walked and it became more and more apparent that she only knew the basics. It seemed that Novus Ordo had brought her in for the sole purpose of being an in-town contact and while she had been to the base once or twice, that was the extent of her involvement with the main guild.  
Did that make feel worse about the fact that I was undoubtedly going to kill her? Not at all. She had organized all three of the kidnappings that had happened recently, which included Laxus. When I asked her what they wanted Laxus for, her eyes practically froze and she clammed up, even when I threatened her with an excruciating death she remained quiet.  
Obviously, she really believed in what was happening here, which was the only black mark I needed to give her. Any organization whose sole purpose was to harm others was bad in my mind... Was that a bit hypocritical of me? A bit, yes, but I really couldn't bring myself to care.  
I suppose I had some idea of what was happening, if they had taken on the name of Novus Ordo, it only made sense that they held some of the same goals. Creating a new generation of mages was what the original guild wanted to achieve and they were trying to do that by infusing people without magical potential with pure magic, which acted like poison to the body. It was a disgusting practice and as far as I knew, none of the victims survived.   
That's probably why I felt such a large amount of anxiety for Laxus... If I lost him to this assholes, I wasn't sure I would be able to contain myself.   
As I navigated my way around a large pack of forest vulcans, my heart rate began to pick up for no obvious reason and I began to drag the woman as quickly as I could without alerting the whole forest to my presence. Something was happening, though I wasn't sure what.  
"Are we close?" I bit out, just barely managing to hold back my powers.  
By this point, the woman was able to walk a bit more on her own, but my accelerated pace practically pulled her off her feet, "Y-Yes!" She yelped, though I didn't necessarily pay too much attention to her, "Just over this-this hill is the entrance." Her voice tremored as I pulled her off her feet again, "Slow down would you, y-you're going to pull my arm-"   
Unfortunately for her, I wasn't stupid, as soon as her voice began to rise in volume I dragged her just a little closer to me and covered her mouth with my hand, "Try that shit again and I'll make you watch as I kill all your comrades with your blood," I whispered into her ear as my hand strayed to my belt where a variety of knives were being kept. "Now, you were reluctant to answer this before, but I'll give you one more chance to tell me; how many people are usually on patrol when you go there? You have five seconds."  
The anxious feeling that had been increasing receded slightly, allowing me the presence of mind to not stab her in the side just yet as I pulled out the longest of my hidden knives, one that I had coated earlier with a potent neurotoxin, "Five."  
For some reason, I couldn't feel the heartbeats that were supposedly close by, yet there were obvious signs in the surrounding area that people were close by, the birds weren't chirping as they had been the rest of the time we had been out here and I could faintly pick up the sounds of footfalls nearby, it was beyond frustrating to not since people who were obviously there.  
"Four." The woman attempted to jerk away from me as she shook her head harshly, she was so loyal to her cause, it was almost admirable.  
"Three." Two small pricks of warmth began to roll down the back of my hand as the woman continued to shake her head, too bad that her side was the opposite of mine.  
"Two." It was unfortunate, she was going to die anyway but that if she had cooperated, I wouldn't have made her suffer. She wasn't going to help me, that much was obvious.   
"Too late." Without any ceremony, I jabbed my knife into her thigh and dragged it causing a fountain of blood to erupt from her. I could feel her scream in agony against my hand, but I didn't allow any sound to erupt, not just yet, it was only going to get worse when her mind registered the neurotoxin.  
Blood coated my hand, which I quickly brought to my mouth as I licked off one of my fingers, allowing her blood to enter my system. Immediately I could feel her heartbeat just a little bit better as I controlled a small amount of the blood that was already beginning to pool on the ground to rise in the air and encircle me, the feeling was intoxicating... The song of her blood caused a tremor to run through me as I tried to resist the temptation to drain her of every drop of blood and absorb it.  
She hadn't stopped screaming against my hand since the moment the blade entered her and now those were mixing with choked sobs as she tried to get enough air. "Scream loud, my little bait." I crooned in her ear as I released her completely and took a step away, the blood I had grabbed control of swirling heavily around me as she did as I said and allowed the trees to echo with the sounds of her pain. (Holy crap... Does anyone else get the feeling that Ember isn't exactly a 'good guy'? She's sadistic AF)  
Immediately, I picked up on three heartbeats coming our way, even if she did manage to warn them of me, it was already too late. Those guards were the lucky ones, if they played their cards right, they would survive this, the same couldn't be said for the rest once I had found Laxus.  
My vision was almost completely red as I walked towards where the men had come from, silent as the ghost I had once been named for, I could see the outline of the trees but that was about it, everything else was washed away as blood clouded my mind.  
It wasn't until I crossed some invisible barrier that I began to sense other people's heartbeat. So they were using an advanced barrier, were they? Smart idea, it would have taken me weeks to find this place if I hadn't had a guide. There were probably thirty heartbeats hidden by the shield, and yet I still couldn't feel Laxus'.  
For a moment I stood frozen, paralyzed by the thought that I had come all this way for nothing. I had been lucky to find this place so quickly; if I was forced to go back and investigate... I might not make it in time. My nails bit into my legs as my breathing picked up, there were so many people who would be devastated if Laxus didn't make it back in time... 

 

Including me.

 

I was pulled out of my head by something sharp cutting into my shoulder. The blood that was still swirling around me had reacted to my momentary breakdown and was now swirling around me erratically, each drop as sharp as ice.  
No, I could still feel Laxus' presence and it was closer than ever... They had used one shield that was capable of blocking me, who's to say that they couldn't use a second one as another layer of protection?  
It took a moment, but eventually, I calmed down slightly, enough to where my nails were no longer cutting into my skin. My window of time I needed to get inside the cave system without immediately alerting everyone was almost up, there was no doubt that those guards would be reporting suspicious activity and my bait would be dead soon, so my time was almost up.  
My feet made no sound as I ran towards the entrance of the cave, It was amazing how this guild followed such similar patterns, each of the times before this Novus Ordo had holed up in a cave system like the rats they were as well. Sure this made my life a bit harder, but it was interesting to think about for sure.  
Several groups of people were moving through the cave, I could faintly hear their chatter with my enhanced hearing, yet it all seemed relatively normal. There was nothing major to guide me in the right direction, which was just about enough to send me back towards a panic attack, but I forced myself back just in time and began to make my way towards one of the groups.  
I needed information, and the closest group was a good place to start, I could always move on once I established the fact that they had no useful information.  
They were close, but it turned out that it was just a group headed to what made up their mess hall for lunch... It was about noon, wasn't it? I had completely lost track of the time, though food was the furthest thought from my mind. The more I listened, the more I realized that they had no relevant information, so I moved on.  
This repeated two or three more times, there would occasionally be mentions of a 'dragon', but they were quickly shut up as their comrades cut over them, looking around furtively. Apparently, Laxus, who was obviously the dragon, was a forbidden topic, though I had no idea why that would be.   
It wasn't until I hunted down two people passing in the halls that I got any real information... Thank god there were still idiots everywhere.  
"Are you coming from the dragon?" The lady I had been shadowing for less than a minute asked as she approached a colleague in a lab coat, who simply sighed and shook his head.  
"Would you stop it already?" The man grumbled as he shoved his hands deep into his pockets, "You know the bosses don't want us talking about it and you're already in enough trouble, to begin with."  
So the woman was known for being loose-lipped, was she? Well, that worked out in my favor.  
A dismissive air surrounded the woman as she giggled slightly, "What? Do you really buy into that whole paranoid crap? If someone really got in here, we would be done, whether or not they found out about anything specific."  
I hated to admit it, but the woman was right; even if I just chose to walk away at this point, I would likely be able to make a pretty good case for this guild to all be thrown in jail.  
It seemed that this wasn't the first conversation these two had had about this, as he sighed heavily, "That's not the point, word has it that one of our town operatives was found dead in the forest outside, not far from here, whoever's after us could be coming for blood."  
This seemed to strike some kind of chord with the woman, who finally looked down and sighed as she tapped her clipboard, "Yeah, I was hoping that was just some kind of joke. They won't say who it was, but... I can't help but feel that Kennedy was... Well, nevermind." A clearly fake laugh bubbled from her as she waved dismissively again, "It's like I said, if someone has snuck in here, then either they'll get caught and nothing more will come of it, or we're screwed, no point in worrying!"   
The man opened his mouth several times as he struggled to find something to say, but the lady didn't seem to keen on giving him a chance, "Don't worry about it, you idiot, just go get lunch! I'm just going to check in on the project. I heard they were close to breaking through."  
So my bait had more connections here... Oh well.  
As soon as I thought that, a terrible feeling began to build in the pit of my stomach once more... What the hell was this? It was like my whole body was getting ready to jump off a cliff. Could the project be...?  
It was clear that the man was exhausted as he ran his hand through his hair, "Yeah, my guess is that they'll get the lacrima out pretty quick now... I wish I could say I was excited, but once it's out, I'll be the one working around the clock to finish everything up."  
Lacrima? My breath froze in my throat. They couldn't be talking about Laxus' dragon lacrima, could they? Blood bubbled up from my pants as I unconsciously dug my nails into my legs again  
, I don't know how they knew about his lacrima, but if they took it out... Laxus wouldn't be able to survive.  
I remembered him telling me about his childhood once, before he had completely turned into a closed off dick, he said his heart had been weak and the magic of the lacrima was a big reason he had grown up healthy. No doubt his body had become dependent on that power.  
The two people continued to talk for another minute before they parted, though I was aware of none of it, my brain was far to caught up in the implications of what they had been saying. My body moved after the woman automatically, following her through the twisting tunnels as my brain remained numb.  
It remained that way until we reached a door that had been meticulously molded into the rocks that surrounded it, even if I wasn't already on high alert this would have been suspicious, as this was the only door I had seen besides the entrance one, everything else was left in the natural rock formations.  
The woman poked a lacrima and scanned her hand as she opened the door, likely as some kind of advanced locking system... This whole thing screamed money and influence, which made the smallest part of my brain that wasn't worrying about Laxus wonder exactly who was behind this whole operation. It certainly wasn't just some random group of people with a vendetta against magic.  
All of this occurred in the moments before the door opened, while I was still mostly coherent... The moment the door opened all rational though abandoned me as the shielding that surrounded the room cracked open and my mind was sent reeling by the scent and feeling of blood hitting me like a truck.  
It certainly wasn't just any random person's blood either, this was blood that was more familiar to me than my own was at this point...   
This was Laxus' blood.  
Thank god there was a heartbeat that reached me, but immediately my brain focused on the fact that he was hurt badly with a razor-like intensity and I lost control of my limbs. All I knew was that I was flying forward faster than I had ever moved before and the ramming into the woman I had been following. Apparently there was a blade in my hand as the sensation of blood rushing over my fingers filled me and my magic began to rattle at the bars of it's cage.  
Normally I would have just ignored this, but my brain was in no shape to heed reality, so naturally, the beast broke free.  
I already had small amounts of blood swirling around me thanks to my bait earlier, but now, as my vision faded entirely to red, I could feel the sensation of what felt like a calming pool lapping at my consciousness. there was a small part of me that recognized that people were dying all around me, I could still slightly hear the screams of people surrounding me, but the liquid that I was surrounded in was so alluring...

So calm...

So warm...

Safe...

Protected...  
***  
"Oi, Coal Head." I looked around lazily, it was our day off, one of the first that we had taken in the two years I had been a member of their team. Bicklow, Freed, and Ever had already dragged The Spark Plug out by his ear, informing him that they were going on an involuntary shopping trip.  
I knew the real reason, of course, Ever was sick of the stupid leather jacket that the teenager insisted was the coolest thing he owned. Normally, we would all just leave him alone and allow him to make whatever choices he wanted, but the jacket had been through one to many adventures... It seriously smelled like something had curled up inside it and died... Well, that and he was outgrowing it faster than he wanted to admit.  
As one of the most cautious spenders of the group, I was immediately nixed from joining in on project Jacket Removal, as I saw no issue with Laxus having a beloved item of clothing... Even if I really did want him to clean it more often for the sake of my sensitive nose.  
That meant that I had the whole day to myself, a rare thing for me, and something that I had originally planned to take full advantage of by rearranging the weapons display in my room.  
Unfortunately...  
"Did you seriously not hear me? I'm talking to you, Coal Head!"   
It seemed as though he was somehow able to escape his captors and now wanted to bug me. "I heard you Spark Plug, I just didn't want to answer." My voice held all the long-suffering of a frustrated parent as I walked down the hall towards my room, hoping that he would catch my hint and just go away.  
Laxus grumbled slightly as he fell into step behind me, "Well that was rude." He murmured, "I just wanted to see what you were up to."  
The hall was long, and while I had emptied out rooms for all of the Thunder God Tribe to use when we stayed here, I doubted that that was his destination, "Nothing," I said dismissively, looking back at him with a raised eyebrow, "Don't you have three people who have specifically asked you to hang out with them today?"  
It was quite amusing to see Laxus frustrated, his whole face scrunched inwards and he raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, acting far more mature he was,"Yes, but I don't want to be with them right now, they're irritating."  
I couldn't keep the chuckle in at that, if only he knew how much time they had spent plotting ways to make him stay with them. "They want you to get rid of the jacket, don't they?"   
That shut him right up, he never did like to admit that others were right. It wasn't until we made it clear to the end of the hall and my bedroom door did he speak again, "I don't see what's so wrong with it." He muttered petulantly as I opened the door.  
Well this was a bind, if I abandoned him now to have a day to myself like I wanted, then I would have to deal with him pouting for the rest of the week... What did I value more, my sanity now or my sanity in the future? It was an incredibly difficult decision...  
"Fine, you can come in, just don't touch any of my weapons or you'll be one of my new test dummies." I sighed, opening the door wider and motioning for him to enter, "Now get in before the rest of them come looking for you."  
He didn't smile at my offer, he never smiled if he could help it, but I had been around the irritable Spark Plug for long enough to know that he truly did appreciate my offer as he wasted no time in entering. This was damn tedious, but it was better than having Ever or Bickslow here picking over every single thing I had hanging around, which included a human skull that had been hanging around since I first inherited the room.  
Not that I was attached to anything in here besides my weapons, I was just to lazy to empty the place of all my mentors' possessions.   
As I firmly shut the door behind Laxus, he made himself comfortable by dropping heavily on my bed and staring up at the ceiling as I began the long awaited process of pulling down all my weapons and cleaning them so they could be rearranged.  
"Do you know why they want me to get rid of it?" He asked after a few minutes of pleasant silence.  
My hands didn't stop moving as I was in the middle of cleaning an antique battle axe, "Maybe because it smells like you're wearing a rotting corpse?" I said dryly, frowning as I tried to get a small crevasse that was evading my cleaning cloth.  
This wasn't the first time I had mentioned this to him, he knew my opinion on his jacket well enough, normally he would have some witty retort for me, but I knew he was concerned about it by the unusual silence I was greeted with, "Listen, if your that worried about it, you can go through some of the clothes in there." I said with a sigh, turning to look at the moody teenager, "Most of the shit in the closet is stuff that I've never touched, the quality is pretty high too, my mentors never really tolerated anything but the best."  
I normally never talked about my mentors, so I could tell that he was brimming with questions, but a sharp glance from me must have broadcast my lack of desire to reveal anything else, as he shook his head quickly and jumped up. It wasn't often that I allowed people to explore around my personal space... So why was I inviting him to do so now?  
The question swirled around in my mind a few times, but I was quick to brush it off in favor of continuing to clean, allowing my mind to wander peacefully as I listened to him making small comments about some of the items before he stuck his head back out, "Why do you keep all this crap, it's not like you use any of it."  
"Do you not see all the shit in there?" I was quick to respond, setting aside the now finished war axe that I was sure had never been used before, "It would be a pain in the ass to clean it all out, besides, I don't have enough stuff to make it look full."  
"Well that makes sense," He muttered before ducking back in and calling out to me, "But why do I get the feeling that you're lying?"  
That was the first thing he had said that caught my attention enough for me to stop polishing whatever was in my hands, "What are you talking about, Spark Plug? Why would I lie about clothes?"  
My attention was stuck on the weapon in my hands, though I couldn't tell you what it was for the life of me... That was such a weird question.  
"I guess," Came his answer, "But it's not just the clothes, is it? It took us the better part of a year to get you to remove the expensive ornaments you had hanging around here. I don't know, maybe I've misread the situation, but it seems like you're hanging on to the past for some reason."  
What?   
A shock went through me as I blinked slowly, there was no way... I just didn't care enough to get rid of all the crap, that was all it had ever been.  
"Everything we've been able to learn about your past has been terrible. It's just like you to take this as a complement, so don't let it go to your head, but your life before us sucked... If it were me, I would be throwing shit out left and right, just to get rid of the bad memories."   
Why was my mind catching on this so much? It was a simple thing, but for some reason it felt... Significant.  
"Hell, I don't even know why I brought it up, but I guess... Well..." He stopped for a moment and I was lost in the current of my mind as I tried to unravel this deceptively simple conversation until a hand landed on my shoulder, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that none of us want you to be held back by your past. We're a team now, so you can use us to help replace your shitty memories. Got that, Coal Head?"  
***  
My breath caught as the liquid around me was disturbed by the memory... That's right, that was when Laxus found his cloak among some of my mentors' old things... It was such a random memory... One that I hadn't even thought about in years, yet...  
"You aren't alone any more."  
It was such a simple statement... One that he said not even knowing the affect it had on me.  
You aren't alone anymore.  
As the liquid continued to stir, my mind tried to find the peace that I felt only moments before, but something was stopping me.  
You aren't alone anymore.  
There was something I needed to do, something important, but what could it be? What could be more important than the liquid?  
You aren't alone anymore.  
Wait... That's right... I was looking for someone, I was mad... Someone was in danger... But who?  
"Coal Head"  
It was like a bolt of lightning traveled down my spine as I woke from whatever trance I had been in and looked around frantically. It took a moment to reorient myself, but there was a stabilizing factor in the room helping me to stay calm, even as I saw the amount of blood that was coating every surface.  
I could feel small lines of a cold, sticky liquid running down my arms and legs, yet I avoided looking down, I didn't want to see further proof of the monster that I knew I had unleashed.  
How long had I been out? There had been no sense of time while I was trapped in my mind... Was it too late? No, Laxus' heartbeat was still present, even if it was weak.  
It took longer than I would have liked, but eventually I was able to look away from the drained bodies and walls to try and find the person I did all this for, only to see an operating table in a room that was adjacent to where I currently was with a small hint of electric blond on top of it.  
My feet moved before my brain and in an instant I was beside the table, looking down in horror at my best friend, completely ignoring the two other heartbeats in the room. Laxus was paler than I had ever seen him, his skin a pale white that contrasted greatly with the red that flecked his face.  
I could physically feel my heart stutter as I looked further down, only to see a large, gaping hole in his chest that showcased exactly why he looked so fragile. Blood was pooling up in the cavity, yet I could very clearly see his beating heart, as well as the sides of his lungs... It was apparent that this operation was not made with his survival in mind.   
The other two heartbeats in the room began edging away from me as stood frozen in horror. Who would be able to fix this? Porlyusica? Maybe, but it I was right, then I would definitely need someone to reinsert the lacrima.   
Speaking of which... My hand snapped up as I caused the blood of my many victim to rise off the floor. I knew that I had absorbed a lot of it, but there was still plenty for me to use, "Where is it?" I ground out, finally looking up at the two scientists who had been trying to make an escape of the room.  
Both of them were watching me with haunted eyes, but I really couldn't bring myself to care as one quickly pulled a hand behind his back, "W-What... What do you mean?" He gasped out as the other one tugged on the man's arm desperately.  
"It's not worth it," Scientist number two hissed into the first one's ear.  
I was past allowing my anger to control me, I had too many other things to worry about, namely keeping Laxus alive, "She's right, you know." I said quietly, forcing the blood to circle around the two scientists menacingly while I kept one hand on Laxus' shoulder reassuringly, "In fact, if you two help me get the help I need for this man, then I can guarantee you'll survive this with your lives."  
~~~~~~~~~  
I hope Laxus wasn't to OOC in the flashback... or that the flashback wasn't too out of place, it's late and late night judgement is not always sound judgement... Let me know what you thought!  
-klypso01


	37. Recruiting Help

Two balls of blood hovered in front of me as I glared at the two scientists in front of me, "I don't recall giving you a choice in any of this, either you do as I tell you or you die, there is no other option here."  
The scientists were staring at me in horror as though I had just asked them to climb onto a torture device. Sure, I had just killed a large, unknown amount of their colleges in front of them, but I was giving them the option to survive... You would think they would be ecstatic about that.   
It seemed as though they were having second thoughts on that, even though they had already given me the lacrima that had been pulled out of Laxus' chest. One would think that getting away from me would be all the encouragement they would need, but apparently drinking my blood was a line they didn't want to cross.  
To be fair, I was flying off the seat of my pants with my idea, but I needed some way to control them and this was my best guess on how to do that with my abilities. If I drank their blood, I would be able to control the blood inside their bodies, but I needed to be able to connect with them more than that. I needed access to their thoughts and feelings, which might not even be possible.  
One of the scientists glared at me as fiercely as he could, gripping his college's arm for support as he spoke, "We gave you the lacrima, didn't we? Just let us go already! We won't say anything to the others here, we'll just go and you can heal your friend!"  
God, he was an idiot... My glare deepened as I looked towards the slayer lying on the operating table, pretty soon I would have to intervene to keep his heart beating, now was not the time to deal with these petty arguments. "I'm sorry, but are you or are you not the ones who made this whole situation necessary in the first place? I don't have the ability to heal him and I'm not about to leave to go get someone who could. By ingesting my blood I'll hopefully be able to give you the directions you need."  
This time the woman opened her mouth to argue, but I was done with this, they were lucky to be alive, that was the only allowance I would give them. A flick of my wrist had my blood flying to them as they both squealed like children, my intention wasn't to hurt the... Not that I really would have cared about hurting them anyway, if I didn't need their help, they'd already be dead.  
As the blood reached them they gasped in pain and the blood began to seep into their skin. How I was doing any of this, I wasn't entirely sure... It felt almost instinctual to command my own blood like this, even though this was the first time I had tried it. It felt as this was what my blood was meant to be used for.   
As my blood began to circulate through their system it was my turn to gasp in pain, I could feel a connection being formed forcefully between us and I just about dropped to the ground their senses invaded my mind. No wonder I had never done this before...  
To steady myself I took a step back and gripped Laxus wherever I could reach him, at this moment he was my steadying factor...  
Thankfully, there was no significant drain to my magic, after my recent rampage I had more magical energy than I knew what to do with, it was more of the fact that there was a sudden wedge being driven into my mind, which was incredibly painful. What they were seeing flashed alongside my own vision as well as a few of their thoughts here and there. If I had only been trying to control one other person it might not have been so bad, but having two sets of information was almost more than I could bear.  
"Can you hear me?" I thought, trying to send my thoughts their way, it would make sense that I would be able to project my thoughts to them but this was new territory for both of us.   
Immediately both scientists flinched away as they covered their ears and collapsed to their knees. I guess they were able to hear me.  
Not wanting to show the mental strain this was putting me under, I continued to speak mentally because if I spoke out loud it was likely that my voice would not be stable, "Good, then we can get started. One of you will be going to the forests outside Magnolia, and the other will be going for a hike through a bit of a mountainous region. I will give each of you a day to go and come back with the people I need; if you fail, you die."  
The looks on their faces told me everything I needed and within a minute both of them were out the door, leaving me alone with the comatose Laxus who was lying pitifully on the table. I hated seeing him this way, he was supposed to be strong... As much crap as I gave him for his big personality, it did fit him, he was a strong person, so him playing the damsel in distress was not a role that suited him.  
My fingers caressed his wrists as I frowned... Laxus was the strong one, I mean, just look at how I had lost control the moment he was in trouble. If it weren't for him... I'd be dead.  
Now that I was alone in the room and no longer had to be strong, my knees gave out from under me. Slowly I slid to the ground, gripping Laxus' hand like an anchor in a storm because that's exactly what it was. I was still covered in blood, and no matter how much blood there was around the room, I had absorbed more.  
My breathing began to pick up as I pulled the hand to my face. Panic was beginning to fill me as the realization of what I had done hit me like a truck, I had murdered more people than I even knew about.  
I didn't realize I was crying until I moved Laxus' hand slightly and felt the wet warmth hit my forehead. Perhaps it was a good thing Laxus wasn't awake right now, I really didn't want him to see me like this...  
I didn't want him to see the monster I was becoming.

 

Gajeel's POV (Didn't see that coming, did you?)  
There wasn't much I regretted when it came to joining Fairy Tail; for the most part, people generally accepted me and there was a sense of family that had never been present when I was at Phantom Lord. One major downside though, was the whole 'being a double agent' bull shit.  
It was unfortunate that the master of the dark guild Raven Tail approached me to spy on Fairy Tail for them... Don't worry, he was a shady bitch and I had my fill of those, so I simply went to Makarov and told him about it.  
Now that I think about it, that doesn't make me a double agent, does it? I'm more like a triple agent... What would the shrimp say in this situation?   
.  
.  
.  
Well shit, now I'm confused and I don't want to be here, what a fun day it is.   
(Don't worry, I know he's only a double agent, don't get on me about the definition of the term.)  
Yeah, it was one of the rare days where I was stuck hanging around Raven Tail's guild hall, which was a castle out in the middle of nowhere that took forever to get to. No doubt Ivan would send me back to Fairy Tail here soon, he didn't seem to like it when I hung out for too long, so that meant I just had to hang on until I could leave without him getting mad... No matter how boring it would be.  
The only food thing about this guild was the fact that the majority of the members were either gone on missions or were loners like me, so I didn't have to worry about dealing with overly chatty people. I could sit in a corner and nurse my beer all day if I really wanted to and no one would care.  
Sure it was a boring job, but it was the least I could do to repay the old man for wrecking his guild in the first place.  
The day had already been boring, so I really wasn't expecting much more than that, there were things I needed to do at some point, but doing them here wasn't really a possibility, so I settled in for the long hall.  
At least I did until the door crashed open. That got everyone's attention in a heartbeat.  
Already I could tell that there was something wrong as the sent of old blood reached my nose, it was a scent that was sadly familiar so I recognized it immediately. The man in the doorway was out of breath and hunched over, panting desperately, but that wasn't what had grabbed my attention. No, it was the fact that blood was covering this man, and none of it was his own.  
His lab coat was tattered and his hair that had probably been a shade of pink at some point was now matted to his head with the pungent rust brown that also splattered his outfit.  
Immediately, the whole guild was on their feet with magic swirling up and weapons being drawn. Whoever this guy was, he was an idiot for coming into a dark guild so suddenly.  
"I... I need to-to talk... To the guild... master!" He gasped out, not yet looking up to see the situation he was in, "Please... It-it's urgent!"  
It was then that he looked up to see around twenty wizards, all of whom were watching him like predators about to jump on their prey.   
One of the more sadistic members who I really didn't like stepped forward with a small dagger twirling around her fingers as she giggled, "Oh do you now? I'm sorry, but it seems we have no reason to grant your request. It would be better if we just had some fun here."  
I rolled my eyes and brought my beer back up to my mouth, there was something off about this, even though this dude was likely going to die here, it seemed odd... The whole thing was weird, how did he know how to find this place, it's not like it was in the middle of a town.  
To my surprise, the man didn't react with fear which was what everyone expected, instead he stood up completely, nursing the stitch in his side as he met the sadistic woman's eye contact without hesitation, "I'm sorry, but I was sent here by someone way scarier than you..." He faded off suddenly and his eyes lost focus for a moment.  
What the hell?   
Once he re-engaged, he looked around the room in determination, "I was sent here by someone called the Reluctant Fairy to get Ivan Dreyar. If you don't help me, then the person who sent me will come here herself... Which would... not be good."  
Once again, there was a very drastic change in this man's attitude was baffling, it was like he didn't really know what to say.  
Unfortunately, it seemed that the woman didn't pick up on that as she took yet another step closer to the man. I couldn't see her face, but I knew enough about her to assume that she was furious; she really didn't like people telling her no.  
A nearly imperceptible tremor went through the man at her approach, but still he stood his ground. Either he had nerves of steel or he was traumatized to the point of being numb... My gut told me that it was the second one.  
"You really think you can tell me what to do? You really must have a death wish." As crazy as she was, I couldn't help but agree with her... He was asking for trouble being here in the first place.  
The man was still trembling as he shook his head, "Sorry but no. I... It boils down to who I'm more scared of... And it isn't you..." Once again he faded out and his eyes lost focus, it was as though someone was whispering in his ear, yet there was no one there. "I was told to say that it has to do with Dreyar's son, he was hurt and needs his father's help."  
That gained my immediate attention, Dreyar's son? Wouldn't that be the lightning dragon Pinkie and I fought not long ago? Come to think of it, I had heard the name Reluctant Fairy before... I couldn't remember who it was, but wasn't it a member of the infamous Thunder God Tribe? Just what was going on here?  
Before Miss Psyco could respond- or jump in and stab the guy, which was a likely thing as well- a loud voice boomed over the tops of our heads, "What's happened to my son?"   
Relief flashed across the man's face at this, though that was once again stopped as his face blanked out, was someone communicating with him?  
"A lot of shi... I mean stuff. Um, the person who sent me told me to say that we need to talk in private unless you want a bunch of personal information spilled to your whole guild."   
I didn't need to see Ivan to know that the borderline threat had triggered him, "Are you threatening me?" Ivan's voice was low and deadly, which more than conveyed his point to the man, who completely drained of color as he looked around frantically.  
"What?! No, of course I wouldn't do that, I mean, I really want to live, don't I? I.." He cut himself off once more before an uncomfortable look flashed across his face, "Well, apparently I am... Um, don't kill the messenger or anything- literally, please don't kill me- but apparently, the person who wanted me to tell you this is. Um... She said she knows enough about you to ruin your reputation forever."  
Interesting... That didn't sound like something most of the people in Fairy Tail would say, even if I didn't know that chick who was in the Thunder God Tribe very well it didn't quite sound like her. Sure she seemed to have a major ego and no problem issuing threats, but this? There was a murderous undertone running beneath the words, could it be Ghost?   
There was a moment of silence before Ivan spoke again, "Very well, come to my office, we'll talk."  
I could practically feel the relief radiating from the man before he edged his way around the disappointed girl who had threatened him and walked over to the stairs. If this really was Ghost, then I wanted to know what the hell was going on, so I stood and followed behind him silently, sending a warning glare to the others who were trying to follow my example.  
As soon as the doors closed behind him, I could hear Ivan's voice sharp with irritation and perhaps even a smidgen of worry buried beneath many other emotions, "We're alone now, I suggest you start talking."  
Unfortunately, there was a closed door between us, so I couldn't really get the full scope of the situation, but that mattered less than the fact that I could hear what was happening, that was enough for now.  
"Oh, um, yes, well, as I said, your son was hurt badly and the Reluctant Fairy needs your help to heal him... Well... you see... Hisdragonlacrimawasremoved."  
I was officially floored... If I heard that right, then someone had managed to pin the Spark Plug down and cut out the thing that allows him to use magic. What idiot had managed to do that?  
"Oh god..." The man choked out after a brief moment of silence, "This chick is violent. She told me to say that if... um... Spark Plug? Well, yeah, if spark plug dies then she will hold you partially responsible and will... Well, hunt you and your guild down before killing them mercilessly. I know this is weird for me to tell you this, but um... It's not an empty threat."  
Was Ghost killing again? I thought she gave that up?  
Ivan was quiet for only a moment before he sighed, "Unfortunately I believe you. How exactly was the lacrima removed? I was careful when inserting it, it should have been fully fused with his body."  
There was a suspicious amount of silence after he asked that, though that was quickly ended with a pained yelp, "Fine, I-I'll tell him... Um, it was... it was us, I mean my team and I were tasked with removing it... Needless to say, we-we succeeded."  
"You what?" Ivan's tone was low and dangerous, something that set the alarms off in my mind, but apparently, the man didn't quite get the hint.  
"Yes, I know it sounds b-bad, but you must understand how rare dragon lacrima's are, it was exactly what our experiment needed. We really couldn't afford to let the opportunity he presented slip through our fing-"  
I had to assume that Ivan's response was the same as mine, because only a moment after the man finished speaking the sound of a dull impact sounded, followed by a crash. They had a team dedicated to removing a dragon lacrima? What exactly was Ghost dealing with over there?  
"You endangered my son's life over an experiment? How dare you! If I didn't need your help to find my son's location, I would have murdered you already."  
The more I thought about it, the more Ghost's relatively uncharacteristic attitude made sense. From all the stories Shrimp and the others had told, she was close to the Spark Plug and the Thunder God Tribe and she absolutely seemed to be the protective type. I was so curious to see the damage she did.  
"I have more questions, however, those can be answered as we are traveling, the only thing I need to know at this moment, as you seem to have some method of communicating with her, if whether or not my son is alive at this moment."  
I suspected as much, but since when could she do any of that? Last I heard, she had no magical abilities.  
Once again was silence but eventually, the man spoke, "Apparently... Apparently, he's alive though she said that she's had a hard time keeping him that way. His heart... Well, it's given out more than once."  
No doubt Ivan was close to actually killing this man the more that was said, even I couldn't help but wince at the new mental image... Though once again; how was Ghost able to do any of this?!  
The door flew open with a vengeance and I thanked any gods that might be listening that there was a fair amount of distance between the door and me as Ivan was quite obviously on a warpath.  
"Gajeel." Okay, so maybe I didn't get away as cleanly as I imagined. I was leaning against a nearby pillar so all I needed to do was turn my head to look at the man.  
"Yeah?"   
I wasn't normally one to pay excessive attention to people's facial features, but I would have been an idiot to not see the fear that was swirling in his eyes. He looked more like a caged animal than a human.  
"I assume you heard everything?" He said with a tense tone as he stepped out of the office, pushing the man in front of him.  
The man's face was now white and his eyes were distant, a sign that I guessed meant he was talking to Ghost. I nodded towards Ivan noncommittally as I kept my eyes on the man. What could Ghost be telling him?  
My attention was grabbed by Ivan, very literally, as he grabbed my elbow and began dragging me down the hall, "Good, then I won't have to explain everything again."   
I followed along willingly, this would get me out of the guild at the very least and seeing what was going on with Ghost would be interesting.  
Ivan pulled me out of my thoughts as he pushed the man ahead of us slightly right before we left the guild, "I need you to stay scarce, the Reluctant Fairy is a prominent member of Fairy Tail, and she's always been perceptive. She will likely see you with me and I would prefer to avoid any questions on how you got tangled up in all this."  
Once again I was rather surprised, he spoke about Ghost as though he knew her, "How do you know Gh- The Fairy... The Reluctant Fairy." And of course I almost refer to her as Ghost, that was something that I doubted she wanted Ivan to know.  
He shot me a look that told me that he noticed my slip up and I cursed quietly under my breath... God damn him for being observant.  
"I always keep track of the people my son chooses to surround himself with, which includes the people who have tried to kill him." Shit, Ghost was going to kill me if she found out about this, once again he sent me that knowing look that made me want to punch him, though... Wait.  
When did she try to kill the Spark Plug?


	38. Fatal Countdown

Ghost sure picked one hell of a place to commit a massacre, it was nothing if not thematic... As the man led us through the trees close to Shirotsume it was obvious that something had gone terribly wrong here.  
Before we even reached the supposed magical barrier that the man kept going on about we had to sidestep a large pool of blood that smelled off somehow like there was something foreign mixed in with it. When I added in the look on the man's face, I could see a story of what had happened being painted.  
It was easy to see that whoever died there was nothing more than a diversion, especially once we crossed the barrier and came face to face with several scared-looking guards, "How have things been here?" The man asked as we approached, completely ignoring the dirty look he was being thrown by Ivan.  
Once again, a sign of trauma surfaced as the guards did nothing as we approached... Either they were really comfortable with this man or they had just given up.  
"Are these the ones the monster wanted?" One of the guards asked in a hiss, completely ignoring the man's earlier question.  
Our guide sighed heavily before nodding, "Yeah, has Vanessa come back?"  
The was met with a sharp 'no' from the guard before he glared at us as though we were the source of all his issues, "That bitch killed half our guards today, she needs to be put down."  
Ivan seemed to brush this off, but I couldn't help but feel myself clench at the pure hatred that was in the guard's voice. How dare he speak that way about Ghost after everything they did to provoke her? They certainly had guts.  
Surprisingly, it was our guide who spoke up in Ghost's defense, "I believe she made it clear to our leaders that she wouldn't kill anyone else if she was left alone. I assume that you tried to break into that room and she retaliated?"  
That sent all of the guards right over the edge, weapons were drawn and they surrounded us within a second, "How dare you!" The guard who had originally spoken said viciously as he stepped forward, "That monster killed all your comrades, has she really whipped you enough to the point where you're her lapdog? Perhaps we should put you down right now like the coward you are!"  
The guards all began to step forward- I wasn't too concerned, after all, I could take care of them on my own and an increasingly irate Ivan was also here- but they were stopped as paper dolls began to pop up in front of them, blocking their ways.  
"As exciting as this is, I'm afraid I can't let you kill this worm just yet," Ivan said with a vicious snarl, "I don't trust any of you to lead me to the right place without doing something stupid. Now move aside before I finish the job and kill off all of the guards in this pathetic place."  
No one was really given a choice as the paper dolls pushed in on the guards until they began to back up. It really was curious that none of them had even tried to use magic on us, normally there would be all forms of magic being summoned, just begging us to fight but there was nothing.  
As quickly as that thought came, it was gone and we were inside the base, it was far less important than just about everything else that was happening at the moment. As we were led through the winding tunnels one thing from the previous interaction stuck with me.  
"Hey," I said gruffly, walking a little bit faster so there was some space between me and Ivan, "Why did you defend her? It's not like she's been kind to you."  
The man looked back at me only slightly with a strangely empty look in his eyes, "I didn't defend her, I simply presented the logic behind the situation. Perhaps it's the fact that I'm connected to her, but it's simple to see that she had no intention of leaving the dragon slayer's side. If they had simply left her alone, as she requested and focused on evacuating the guild rather than trying to kill her, which obviously wasn't going to happen, then no one else needed to die."  
That made sense, it really sounded like these people had brought a lot of the misery on themselves, which made it hard to show them any sympathy.  
Finally, we reached the place where I could sense a slight blockage. It was as though everything on the other side was muted with cotton, much like it had been as we were approaching the main guild. These enchantments had been here for a while, just what had this guild been up to?  
The man looked as though he was struggling emotionally as he contemplated opening the door, but finally, he reached out a pale, shaking hand and scanned it on the lacrima causing a loud click. As the door swung open we were hit by the full range of what the enchantment was holding back...  
Which certainly was more than what I was expecting.  
I knew that Ghost had killed some people through this whole thing, and the guards hinted to a lot more people being killed than I expected, but to be hit by a wave of blood was shocking. And that was an understatement.  
My body acted without my permission as it reeled away from the smell and my arm shot to cover my nose. I barely kept in the bile that began to rise up my throat, this would smell terrible to any normal human who walked into the room, but for a dragon slayer with heightened senses, this was pure torture.  
A hand grabbed my neck and pushed me forward just enough to force me into the fragrant room where surprisingly, the blood was gone... Not the smell, that was still prominent, but I could only see a few flecks of blood here and there, which had me looking around for the bottles of blood that had to be lying around somewhere.  
There was none, but I did see Ghost in the middle of the room, standing next to a surgical table that had a large, easily recognizable body lying on top of it. Her shoulders were hunched as though she was in pain and when I looked down, I couldn't help but notice the fact that her fingers were intertwined with the lightning dragon slayers... Basically, even though I could only see the back of her, she looked like hell.  
"You made it." Her voice was steady, but my ears could pick up the smallest of tremors, "Good, as I promised you're free to go." The man who had been by her side practically fainted with relief as he turned around, "Don't be too worried if you experience pain or cough up blood... You have a different blood type than me, so I was fighting your body the whole time to keep my blood inside you."  
This was an added in afterthought, but once again I was floored; she put her blood inside him? Just what was Ghost's magic?  
The man sprinted out of the room as soon as she said her piece, and a second later I watched as Ghost's shoulders relaxed ever so slightly, "Well Ivan, it's been a while, hasn't it?"  
She looked over her shoulder with a wry grin as she nodded to the both of us. For some reason, she didn't seem to be bothered that I was there, or even shocked at all. In fact, she simply shot me a wink, obviously forcing the smile on her face.  
"Ember." Ivan acknowledged briefly before he swept to her side, "How has he been?"  
I followed behind Ivan silently, noticing with less surprise, that she seemed to be the source of the bloody smell, though Laxus wasn't too far behind her in that. It made sense, what with the gaping hole in his chest that was easily seen.  
"He's about as well as he can be with a hole in his chest, that tends to make the whole 'living' thing difficult you know." The sarcasm in her voice was fatal, yet she never once let go of his hand as she glared Ivan down. "Speaking of which, I need you to put this back in him now before I lose control and kill him by accident."  
In her hand was a glowing yellow lacrima that had been cleaned meticulously that she shoved unceremoniously into Ivan's chest...  
I was getting the idea that the two didn't like each other.  
A sneer spread across Ivan's face as he nodded and swiped the crystal out of her hand, "And just how have you managed to keep him alive thus far?"  
Her scowl turned murderous... I think I was missing something here... "Are you two just going to sit there and chat, or will you actually save the Spark Plug today?" I said. Perhaps it was a bit gutsy of me to interject into such a tense moment, but I was sick of the dick measuring contest that they seemed to be having.  
Ember's POV  
What the hell Black Steel... That's my nickname for Laxus.  
I stared at the metal dragon slayer for a moment in shock before I turned back to one of the people I hated most in the world. If I hadn't absolutely needed to bring him here to put the lacrima back, then just Porlyusica would be coming here, either that or literally anyone else besides him.  
Unfortunately, Ivan was the only person I knew that had ever implanted a dragon lacrima, so I simply bit my lip and did what I needed to, that didn't mean I liked it. "If you do anything to hurt him, I will murder you in a heartbeat, " I growled quietly, the threat hanging heavily in my voice.  
Black Steel was staring at me in disbelief as I laid my free hand over Ivan's, stopping him for just a moment as I took time to thoroughly convey my threat.  
"Why the hell would I hurt him?" Ivan shot back at me as he shook my hand off his, "He is my son, I want him hurt even less than you do."  
Oh, don't make me laugh. I knew my eyes likely looked as they had when I worked as an assassin, but at this moment, that worked in my favor, "Don't give me that Bull shit Ivan, Laxus has told me stories and I've done research. Your only motivation here is for him to strengthen this fucking lacrima. Try anything funny and I won't show mercy."  
Our eyes clashed in a flurry of sparks as I leaned in ever so slightly, tightening my hand reflexively around Laxus' as I tried to not outright attack Ivan with my magic... I had absorbed the rest of the loose blood that was around the room, which left me with far to much magic.  
Even before I absorbed all the blood I had too much magic, going into a blood frenzy almost pushed me to the point of no return... How I had managed to stay in a room with a bloody Laxus and manage to keep his heart beating without killing him was a mystery to me and now there were two more people with beating hearts trapped in the same room as me.  
My vision began to turn red I lost sight of Ivan's eyes and solely felt the call of the blood. This was bad. I didn't want to fall into this again.  
A sharp pain broke through the blood haze and I blinked, watching as Ivan's eyes slowly swam back into view, "Very well." I growled before stepping back just far enough to give him room, reluctantly letting go of my anchor.  
Black Steel was watching me in alarm and it took me a moment to realize that he was looking down at my leg. When I followed his gaze, I couldn't help but groan slightly, planted about an inch or two into my leg was one of my shorter knives... Somehow my body decided to pull me back from the edge by stabbing myself in the thigh.  
I carefully pulled the blade from my leg and covered it with my hand, "Blood Control: Coagulate." My words were quiet enough that I most people wouldn't be able to hear me, but I had my doubts with the fact that Black Steel had extra sharp, dragon slayer hearing.  
The look he was shooting me as my leg immediately stopped bleeding furthered this idea and I simply shot him a look before turning back to Ivan, who was watching me passively, "I need you to remove whatever magic you have over Laxus. If it remains while I am casting the spell, it could cause unintended consequences."  
That made sense, but the fact was that once my magic was gone, Laxus' heart would stop... I had spent a 32-hour period keeping it going so just the thought of purposefully letting it stop just about gave me a panic attack.  
My hands bit into the legs of my pants as I nodded and bowed my head, allowing that line of magical influence to stop. This was one of the most constant drain's I had had on my magic, so to feel it release caused red to almost completely take over my vision. I needed to get rid of some of my magic and soon. Even controlling my blood from a distance wasn't enough to get me back to manageable levels.  
At that moment I spaced out, allowing Ivan to do whatever the hell he wanted as I retreated into myself to try and control the overflowing dam, which physically hurt in more ways than one. A hand softly gripped my elbow and I was pulled back into the moment by Black Steel, who was shooting me a worried look.  
"What's going on?" He muttered into my ear. Thankfully, Ivan didn't notice us as he was already beginning the enchantment.  
I watched him closely as I sighed and leaned back over to Black Steel... Sure, he knew that I used to be the Ghost of Fiore, but that didn't mean I wanted to spill all my secrets to him. But he had earned some form of an explanation, "I can't tell you... Not right now." I murmured just quiet enough to not gain any extra attention.  
"Juvia and Lucy will be coming to my house next Saturday and I'll explain things to them. You are welcome to tag along. Meet at Balsam Village's train station."  
I probably would have said more, but Ivan stopped chanting with a heavy curse, catching our attention, "No! God damn it!"  
I gulped heavily as a shudder ran down my spine... That was not a good sign.  
"What happened?" I asked brusquely, stepping to his side ignoring how Laxus' chest cavity was filling with blood. "Why did you stop?"  
Ivan glared as he turned harshly to face me, fury written into every line on his face, "Why did I stop? Do you even realize how delicate this process is? Has it ever occurred to your puny brain that if something goes wrong now, the lacrima could break? If I put in too little magic, the lacrima won't fuse completely with his body and even if the stream of magic is too strong then I run the risk of shattering the lacrima!"  
This all made perfect sense to me, but that didn't change my question, "So why did you stop? None of that sounded like a plausible reason for you to not be working on it right now. Why did you stop so suddenly?"  
"Because I don't have enough magic to complete the process!" He shouted, freezing my blood as he spoke, "If I start without having the proper magical energy available, then once I run out the lacrima will break and Laxus' system will be flooded with ethernano... I... I can't continue until I have another power filled lacrima.  
At that moment it felt like my brain was collapsing in on itself," Why... Why did you come without having the proper equipment?" I hissed, barely noticing the tremor that was running throughout my whole body.  
We were slowly moving to the point of being in each other's faces, "Because last time I inserted the lacrima it was empty! I was able to break it down into small pieces and allow it to reform inside his body! This time I can't do that. If I break the lacrima down it will either shatter or lose its magical charge! And before you accuse me of not wanting to lose the magical charge because it will set my experiment back, that isn't the case!"  
"Then what the fuck is it for?!" We were screaming in each other's faces now. If my brain had been slightly more present I would have seen how irrational I was being, but that just wasn't in the cards for me.  
"Because if the lacrima loses the charge, it could be too weak to support Laxus' body and he very likely could die!"  
The silence that resounded after that statement was deafening. My breath froze solid in my throat and it felt like all the world as though someone had taken complete control over my blood. I couldn't move I couldn't breathe... Laxus...  
Ivan turned away to face his son, "If I hurry I might be able to fetch a power filled lacrima from a vendor I'm familiar with. He knows me well, so it wouldn't be a problem, but the quickest route there would take a little over a day... Even with you acting as his life support, I'm not sure he would make it."  
For once we agreed, "No..." I muttered, my voice weak... There had to be something I could do, I mean, I had blood magic... Maybe if I gave Laxus a blood transfusion he would be able to make it... But that wouldn't work because we were different blood types, that would only do more harm to Laxus than anything.  
My mind fogged over as I tried to think of anything, it felt as though I was missing something obvious. I watched as Ivan walked over to the big blond and soothed the hair that always ran wild over his forehead...Wait...  
"Take mine," I said hoarsely as I took a step forward and grabbed Ivan cloak.  
He looked back in disdain, "Excuse me? Take your what?"  
"Take my magic," I said, now that my thoughts had finally cleared slightly I realized that I had indeed been missing a major factor. My blood could transfer energy from one place to another which meant that I could act as a power filled lacrima, especially since I had more magic than was safe for me to have at the moment.  
Without even giving him the chance to agree or disagree my hand moved to the cut on my leg and I tore at the scab that I had formed before pulling out a length of my blood, "Blood Control: Predator. Predator: Hunt."  
Ivan didn't even have time to react before the small amount of my blood hit him and began to spread over his skin. I didn't bother with forcing my blood to sink into the skin as that wasn't needed. Instead, I ignored the horrified look he was shooting me and waved him off, "Start the process."  
"Ember," He said hesitantly, for the first time since I had known him, he looked completely thrown off guard, "I... It isn't possible to transfer magic like that and even if you could, the human body can rarely lose that much magic without dying." It was odd, but for some reason, I got the feeling that he was treating me like a child who didn't quite understand reality.  
Well, it certainly was lucky for him that I was one of the few people who had a good answer to both of those concerns, "Predator: Passive..." Now the question was what word I needed to use, Passive Add sounded lame and this was my first time using magic in front of someone I wasn't intending to kill... "Passive:... Supplement?" My hesitant spell seemed to do something as I felt the smallest portion of my magic leave me  
"Will this be enough magic?" I asked smugly. If this worked like my passive drain, then my magic would be funneled to him as he used it. It might not give him enough of a feel for my magic, but it would help him understand that I could help him out to some extent, "I thought you had been staking all of us?" I said in a harshly teasing manner, "How could you miss such an obvious fact about me?"  
Ivan's jaw tightened as he stared at me, trying to decide if I was just messing with him, "I will not take responsibility if you die." He said stiffly as he walked back over to Laxus.  
My footsteps were automatic as I walked back over to Laxus' side and gripped his hand, allowing our fingers to intertwine as they had been for the last twenty plus hours, "Well then, it's lucky I don't really care about any of that." My other hand gently moved to Laxus' forehead, which was worryingly cold, "Besides, I really could care less about dying today, you'd probably be doing the world a favor if I did."  
I didn't say it, but as I refused to look away from Laxus, 'Between the two of us, you are absolutely the one who deserves to live more... I want to talk to you more, to ensure that you'll be okay, but if I die to save you, it'll be worth it.'  
"Gajeel, grab Ember, I don't know how this will affect her but I would hate for any pain she might be in to ruin the spell." Ivan held the lacrima between his hands as he stared down at his son, "Magic draining spells are often unpleasant."  
I could hear Black Steel approaching and as his arms braced themselves against my chest he leaned close to my ear to whisper, "Are you sure you're okay with this Ghost?"  
For the first time in several days my smile was genuine as I nodded, "Of course, why else would I offer?" I said just as quietly, "Hey, if this does kill me, could you tell the old man what went down here? Out of everyone, he deserves to know what happened."  
His irritation with my request was tangible, "But I hardly know what happened here, you do realize that, don't you?"  
I nodded shortly, "I know, but from what I'm seen, you're pretty sharp, just make sure he knows that his grandson is okay." Was this harsh? Yeah... It would be a major burden on both him and the old man, but who else knew anything about what had happened here, besides of course Laxus, who had most likely been out a majority of the time.  
Before Black Steel could retort, Ivan snapped at us, "Are you going to keep cheating on my son, or can we save his life now?"  
This immediately made my face flush as I tugged slightly out of Black Steel's arms, where the fuck did that come from? Ivan was a terrible father and he chose now to make a dad joke? Fuck No.  
I sent the idiot my darkest glare and he simply shrugged before turned back to Laxus and began muttering beginning the spell leaving me to die in embarrassment and fold into myself and it seemed as though Black Steel was in the same boat as he was only gripping my elbows and no part of him was touching me...  
None of this was awkward until now, damn you Ivan.  
Thankfully, before too long I began to feel a tug against my magic and immediately my knees buckled. It seemed as though I had pushed myself just a little bit too far over the last few days...  
With the tug came an excruciating burning in my chest... So this is what it felt like when you had an overabundance of magic being pulled from you forcibly, was it?  
A scream ripped its way from my throat as I curled into myself as best I could.  
I could say with full confidence that it fucking sucked.


	39. Actions Have Consequences

The world was slow to return to focus as I drifted back into consciousness, it was so great...  
My body felt as though it had been pounded into with a jack hammer and while my memories were pretty foggy, I was honestly surprised that I was waking up at all. I remembered enough to know the basics of why I felt like complete and utter shit.  
A shudder ran down my spine as I remembered the pain that ran through me in waves... It was so bad that even now my breath caught in my throat as I tried to breath past the panic that was slowly killing me. I knew it would suck, but that... That was the worst pain I had ever experienced.  
Which was saying a lot.  
Acting on instinct, my body curled in on itself as I struggled to keep breath moving through my lungs as quietly as possible. My hands moved up to my head where they entwined in my hair as I struggled. I could feel my heart hammering out an uneven rhythm as sharp pain began to echo from my head.  
There was just to much to focus on, my clothes that hugged my skin tightly were just too much to bear and the already overwhelming feeling of hearts beating nearby was enough to send me over the edge.  
A sharp whine ripped itself from my throat as I shook.  
I could feel my heartbeat slowing all over again... It was just like when Ivan had been pulling at my magic...  
Last time I just allowed it passively to stop... Would that happen again?  
Why did it restart to begin with?  
I was in so much pain... I didn't want to come back... After everything that had happened... How could I come back?  
What idiot would save a mass murderer like me?  
A calming smell seemed to seep into my mind as I writhed on the floor, desperate for some form of anchor...  
Where was my anchor?  
Was he still alive?  
Something was forcing my heart to calm down without my permission as that smell continued to dance through the chaotic halls of my mind. It was...  
This was...  
"Porlyusica," I gasped out, finally my eyes opened fully for the first time since Ivan's procedure started.  
A bony hand slapped my cheek lightly as I attempted to make my brain catch up to the situation, "What are you thinking, you idiot? I just got your heart started again, having a panic attack right now could kill you." She was fuzzy and out of focus, but there was no mistaking the amount of distain she was displaying.  
"Wh-Whats... What's the pr-problem wi... With th-that?" I managed to get out past my clenched teeth and jaw that refused to stop shaking.  
A fuzzy bundle of green was shoved back under my nose, causing me to reel back slightly as the scent that pulled me out of my panic attack returned, "Well, I've obviously put far too much effort into you to let you die now, haven't I?"  
Normally, I would have chuckled as I brushed off her harsh words, but my brain really wasn't in the right place, "I-is he... He alive?" The shaking increased for a moment as my mind tried to sweep around the room, looking for any other heart beat.  
"You can calm down, he's fine. Though that would have been a different story if I had come in any later then I did." The tension that had built up quickly in my gut dissipated faster than it came as I allowed myself to relax against the floor with a happy groan, "I suppose it's fortunate that Ivan is as thorough as he is, his attention to detail saved his son's life. I don't like giving that man any credit, but I suppose this time it's rather necessary."  
That was enough to ease my mind completely as I smiled slightly, "So it worked, that's good."  
The moment was short lived as knuckles rapped sharply across my skull, causing me to flinch, "Yes, it worked, but the success nearly cost you your life. Think about the consequences of your actions next time before you jump into a situation like this."  
I smiled humorlessly as I slowly moved my weak body to a sitting position with Porlyusica's help, "I... I did." I grunted out shortly as pain flared up throughout my body at the movement, "Laxus' life was worth more than mine, it was an easy decision."  
Slowly I came to rest against a wall and took a moment to catch my breath. It didn't take long for my eyes to fall on the surgery table that still held the overly pale spark plug. The angle I was at didn't allow me to see anything more than the side of his face, but there was a moment of relief as I noted the small amount of color that was in his cheeks.  
"I suppose I should warn you of something," Porlyusica muttered as she stood and walked back over to the table, "The amount of strain both of your body's were put under through this whole thing could have some... Drawbacks in the future... For both of you."  
The way she said this had my eyes shooting to her quickly enough that I could feel my brain spin slightly in my skull, "And what does that mean?"  
Unfortunately, her back was to me, so I couldn't see the look on her face as she bent over Laxus' chest to inspect his wound, "Precisely that. You do remember me telling you that if your magic was drained again, it could lead to MDS or death?"  
I nodded shortly, unwilling to say anything more.  
"Well, you tried to die, so I have no doubt that something has been screwed up in your body. It's possible that the damage could be permanent."  
That was the most vaguely ominous answer she could have given me, "What kind of damage am I looking at Porlyusica?" I asked harshly, "don't start coddling me now."  
Her hand went to her hip as she shot me a severe look, "I didn't say because I'm not sure. Blood magic was never studied very well, even before it disappeared, so forgive me for not being an encyclopedia on it."  
Our eyes sparked as they clashed, "I'm not asking you to be an encyclopedia, I just want your best guess, waiting to find out the damage isn't the best idea for me."  
The glare lasted a moment more before she sighed heavily, "It doesn't work like that Ember," She said simply, "In all my years, I've never seen a case quite like yours. You should have been physically incapable of using magic after drinking the magic draining potions for so long, but your body simply adapted and grew stronger. For all I know, this will simply boost your magical capability even higher, though it's more likely that you've broken some portion of your magic permanently. Only time will tell, though I can confidently say that using your magic in the next month, or even over exerting your body will only worsen the damage."  
That was simple enough to understand, I inclined my head slightly, as I moved on to the more important topic, "That's reasonable enough... You mentioned Laxus, what about him?"  
Her face lost some of the seriousness as she looked back at the dragon slayer in question, "Well, yes, there will certainly be a toll after having his dragon lacrima removed so crudely, but he will avoid most issues thanks to his lacrima. It's a powerful one, from what I can tell, so it is more than capable of helping him get through his body's recovery, but if he puts too much strain on himself for the next month or so, he could be in danger of tearing his stitches, which would lead to complications that would be very... Irritating and difficult to deal with."  
A ball of stress that I hadn't realized was building up loosened at that moment, that was far easier to deal with than I had been worried it would be, "Good, I was afraid it would be difficult to deal with." I hummed, completely ignoring the small smirk that Porlyusica got.  
"Well then, I suppose it would be easiest to simply place you in charge of making sure he doesn't go anywhere for a few months, seeing as how you aren't allowed to do anything either. It would be preferable if you would both just remain in one place and do nothing."  
I nodded thoughtfully, Laxus hated remaining still for too long, but perhaps... "That shouldn't be to difficult, I could tie him to a bed if I need to... I think I have magic cancelling cuffs hidden around my home somewhere." My lips curved up as an evil glint made its way into my eyes, "It wouldn't be the first time I would have had to restrain that idiot."  
Perhaps that was the wrong thing to say, as the implications of my words hit me only a moment after I said them, but Porlyusica didn't seem to care all that much. She simply shook her head and turned back to Laxus, "Well then, it sounds like you have it covered. I'll take my leave now, being around humans is irritating in the best of circumstances, and enough is enough."  
She didn't wait for me to acknowledge her words as she picked up her pack, which had already been put back together, and walked towards the door, "Oh, Ember? She said coldly with a swift look back at me, "If I find out that you have been using your magic after today, you will have to answer to me."  
I nodded, I never wanted to use my magic, so it was an easy promise to make... Whether or not I would be able to see it through was another story entirely. Of course, as the door clicked shut, another question presented itself, how was I supposed to get Laxus out of there? I weighed significantly less then him and it wasn't like I was strong enough to dead-lift 250 pounds, especially not right now... Or ever, for that matter. Unless some miracle occurred and a friendly person came in to help me remove Laxus, I would have to stay here until he was able to wake up.  
~~~~~~~~  
It took me three hours to get up the energy to stand and make my way over to Laxus' side with an unsteady limp. There was simply no way around it, my body was in terrible condition, so everything I was normally able to do without thinking about it was significantly harder.  
That's not to say I was useless, my blood sense was still hanging around slightly, so I was able to track people's movement through their hidey hole of guild by the second... It seemed as though they were organizing themselves for something, but none of them were leaving yet. Either they were stupid or something else was going on that I couldn't sense.  
My first step was to alert Lahar that the guild had been... infiltrated and it would be best if he sent someone here as quickly as possible before they all escaped and the mission started all over again.  
To say that Lahar was upset with me would be an understatement, "I told you to observe and report back, not rush in and nearly get yourself killed! Do you even realize the ramifications of what you've done?"  
I grimaced and avoided Lahar's judgmental gaze, "You don't need to remind me about that," I grumbled as my back screamed at me. I was leaning up against the operating table, which was far less comfortable than my sore body wanted, "Anything you could reprimand me about is something I've already thought about."  
"Ember-" He started, but I quickly cut him off, genuinely, there was no way he could make me feel more guilty than I already did.  
"So can you get people here or not? I count thirty people still here, which is probably a majority of the guild..." 'Especially since I killed the rest of them'  
His glasses flared slightly as he pushed them up, covering his eyes, "A unit is already en-route, they should be there within the hour. You're lucky an alarm had already been triggered in Shirotsume yesterday, the team was dispatched before I received your call."  
There was a short silence as the realization must have sunk in, "Please tell me you weren't the cause of that alarm."  
I shrugged noncommittally before looking him dead in the eye, "They kidnapped Laxus."  
Immediately tick marks began to pop up on Lahar's forehead, but before he could respond, there was a faint groan from above me, "I've got to go, tell your men to be on their guard when they get to my location, the fact that no one is leaving concerns me, something could be blocking them." I didn't wait for him to respond before I cut the connection and began the painful process of dragging myself to my feet.  
As I was doing that, the Spark Plug began to mumble profanities and something about a hangover from hell... This in and of itself about had me chuckling. Only Laxus would do that, most others would probably wake up panicking like I had, but no, he immediately assumed that he was hungover.  
Though, at the moment, I was a bit preoccupied by trying to get air to enter my lungs again as they had begun to cramp as soon as I was on my feet. My breath was heavy as I leaned over, holding onto my knees for dear life. I hadn't felt my lungs burn this badly since I was first taken in by my mentors and forced to go through their hellish training regime.  
"Coal Head?" Laxus croaked, he sounded like he had just gone through a bender of epic proportions as well, so the whole bender thing would have been probable if I didn't know better, "Where am I? What the fuck happened?"  
With great effort, I turned and grinned wryly at him, "Before or after you got yourself kidnapped like a damsel in distress?"  
He growled at my tone, but cut himself off after a moment, "Wait... Kidnapped? What are you talking about?"  
It really was unfortunate there was no chairs in here, I rocked on the balls of my feet as I gingerly turned towards him. Sure, this situation was prime teasing territory, but there was a huge sense of relief that he didn't remember any of what happened... I didn't want him to be stuck with those memories, "Yeah, the guild we were after kidnapped you for your dragon lacrima. They got it out too."  
The words I wanted to say seemed to get caught in my throat as I reached out blindly for his hand, the memories were too strong... I needed my anchor.  
At first, when my hand wrapped around his, he tried to jerk away, but I think after getting a good look at my face he stopped, "Ember?" His voice was weaker than it had been as he tugged our intertwined hands to his bandage-wrapped chest, "I don't want to push, but I need to know at least some of what happened. You can tell me the rest when you feel comfortable."  
My whole body froze as I struggled to keep my breathing under control, Porlyusica's words reaching me, '... Would have been a different story if I had come in any later...'  
I could feel my knuckles whitening on Laxus' as I forced myself to speak, "They got your lacrima out before I could save you... I'm sorry... You father put it back in." My eyes squeezed shut as I bowed my head enough to hide my face from Laxus, "But you survived, so it was worth it."  
"Okay..." Laxus said hesitantly, "That made more questions than it answered, though it makes sense why I feel as though I was run over by a truck." When I didn't open my eyes he sighed and grunted out in pain, which of course had my eyes flying open immediately, no doubt that was his plan.  
The idiot was attempting to sit up, a look of intense pain flashing clearly across his face, "You idiot!" I yelped as I moved quickly and shoved him as gently as I could back to lying flat, "You were filleted open like a fish only a few hours ago! Sitting up is the worst thing you could possibly do for your body right now!"  
A small smirk lifted his lips as he conceded and laid back, "Well, it got the results I was looking for, so it wasn't bad."  
Despite myself I could feel a small blush hitting my cheeks at that... What an idiot, "Just... Just stay down," I grumbled, looking away to stop my heart from going into overdrive, hissing slightly as I turned awkwardly.  
His eyes never left me, and the moment that minuscule show of pain escaped me, he moved his hand to my elbow and pulled me closer, causing a flinch to rip through me involuntarily, "You're hurt? What happened to you?"  
Before I could answer, my senses prickled at the appearance of new heart beats reaching me, it looked as though the Ruin Knights were here, "Your father needed help replacing the lacrima, so I gave him some of my power, don't worry too much about it. I'll be fine."  
He hummed slightly as his eyes sharpened on me, "It's interesting, you said that with so much determination, but I can tell you're lying... Mind explaining to me why that is?"  
Crap, I almost forgot that he could read me better than anyone else... My brow furrowed as I tried to gather the courage to tell him anything... This was a terrible place to divulge my fears, but... Laxus knew all my secrets thus far, what harm could telling him about this do?  
Answer: A lot.  
"Yeah... I should have known better than to try and hide that from you, huh?" I muttered, forcing myself to stare as deeply into his eyes as he was into mine, "You see... Well... I may have lost-Fuck!"  
Before I could tell him anything, the door slammed open as a presence that I could swear hadn't been there a moment before burst in, "Are you guys okay?! Lahar told me to come straight here!"  
Unfortunately for all of us, my jump had taken just about all my strength and I ended losing my balance and collapsing to the ground the moment the man had made it fully into the room, held up only by my connection with Laxus.  
"Scar Face." I murmured as my heart raced, "I talked to Lahar thirty minutes ago, he did not tell you to burst in here without announcing your presence." Yes, I knew this idiot, not as well as I did Lahar, but still, I had worked with him on one mission.  
His teleporting magic was incredibly useful, but he quickly discovered that I didn't like being snuck up on... Which, of course, started a game of 'how many times can I teleport behind her before I get stabbed?' I don't think I need to explain how little I liked that game.  
Therefore, my death glare that I sent him was totally justified as he walked into the room, "Well, they certainly have done a number on you two, haven't they?" He said as he bent down to my level, "Lahar said that it sounded bad, but I didn't think that you would let yourself get caught like this, are you slowing down in your old age?"  
My glare was deadly as I stared him down, "Don't push me. I'm surprised that you even took such a low profile job to begin with."  
I knew from the moment I met him that he was a bit of a opportunistic bastard, and the crooked smile he was shooting me simply proved that fact, "True, but Lahar hardly gave me a choice, now, what can I do to help you?"  
He stretched out his hand to help me stand, but I ignored him entirely as I pushed myself back to a sitting position painfully, "Take... Him." I forced out, pointing to Laxus, who was trying to watch what was happening as I was practically below him, "Our hotel room should still be ours, unless they kicked us out after I threatened the concierge. Please bring him to the room, he shouldn't be here any longer than he needs to."  
A small protest came the man above me, but Scar Face was quick to grab the idiot and leave. I suppose I did appreciate his desire to not drag things out. No doubt Lahar forced him to come after I got ahold of him, there was no way he was a member of the original task force... He was far to prideful for that.  
Normally, I would have gone out and checked out what was going on, as it seemed that the Ruin Knights were still stationed outside the cave, but my body was refusing to move from its current position. Hopefully Scar Face would come back and take me to the hotel as well, because otherwise I would have to wait for the Ruin Knights to arrest everyone in the tunnel system and search around before they found me. Just that thought had me slumping back to floor as I resigned myself to being there for a while.  
Sure, our conversation was cut short by Scar Face, but Laxus was not one to forget a conversation... Especially when it was something like this, he would dig as far as he could.  
A small pop alerted me to the fact that Scar Face was back, "So you didn't just leave?" I asked without looking away from the small spot of cave ceiling I had become fixated on, "Leaving would have been more up your ally."  
Scar Face dipped down to put a hand on my shoulder, "Lahar is too much of a pain for me to get away with doing that." He muttered out before I felt my body tug and the lighting change, "Besides, with how rough you look, I doubt you would have made it back to the hotel on your own... I couldn't leave you when you looked as pathetic as that."  
We were in the hotel room, as he said that, which prompted an irritated Laxus to chime in from one of the beds, "She would have gotten lost on her way back anyways, we would have found her corpse left in the woods a few weeks from now."  
Scar Face chuckled slightly before turning back to me, "Lahar told me that you need to be to his office tomorrow to tell him what happened, apparently the team found the cave, but the entrance was caved in. There are a lot of holes that need to be filled. Should I tell him you'll be indisposed for a few more days to get him off your back?"  
Well, that was an unexpectedly sweet gesture from him, I shook my head firmly before shifting off the floor, "No... I would rather get it over with so I can just go home and sleep for a week, besides, I wasn't the one who was given an impromptu surgery. I'll be there."  
(Sorry Guys, I know it's dry, just stick with it a bit longer, there's a payoff at the end, I promise.)  
A second later Scar Face was gone and I was left staring at a blank wall as I felt my body sway slightly, "Lay down before you collapse again, you idiot." Laxus' gruff voice pulled me from my rather mixed up thoughts and I turned around to see him tapping the his bed slightly.  
"I have my own bed, you know that, right?" I asked, a small trace of humor touching my tone, which he simply shook off.  
"Yeah, but this one's closer. I doubt you'll make it to your own."  
I wanted so badly to refute that claim, but my legs were shaking too much for me to pretend that he wasn't right. The thought of lying down next to him was so incredibly embarrassing, but I grit my teeth and did it, staring resolutely at the ceiling... It was easy to tell that he was doing the same.  
"So..." He started, before coughing slightly, "You lost control, did you?" I didn't respond, I couldn't, "How many did you kill?"  
"I don't know." My voice was monotonous, robotic. I couldn't let myself dwell on these thoughts too much.  
Laxus hummed disbelievingly which had me scowling... This was going to be a fun conversation, "The Ember I know would never lose track like that, I have a hard time believing that you wouldn't have automatically kept some track of everyone-"  
"Then I guess the Ember you know wasn't in control during that whole thing, because I genuinely have no idea how many I killed." I cut in over him, my muscles stiff, I wanted to be anywhere but in this room right now.  
There was silence for just a moment, "Why'd you do it?" If I had to guess, I would say that he was afraid to hear the answer, if the slight quiver in his voice meant anything.  
Of course, this was a deceptively simple question... There was only one reason why I did it... and I hated it. "Because," My hands crumpled into the bedsheet below me, I really didn't want to admit this to him.  
"They had you." I swear the temperature of the room dropped a good ten degrees at my confession, "... And every time I thought about them having you, all I could see was their former victims... But with your face." I could vaguely feel a tear drip down my cheek as I glared ferociously at the ceiling, "You don't know some of the things they've done Laxus, there's been horrific things... And I could never allow them to do that do you."

 

"But I was too late... and when I saw that fact, I lost control."

"Don't tell me that what I did was wrong, because I know all that... I know that murder is never the answer, but you don't understand... You can't possibly understand what it's like to walk into a room and smell nothing but the scent of blood! And not just any blood, but your blood."  
A hand wrapped around my wrist as I ranted, but I was far from done, every emotion that had been building up in my mind for the last while was finally exploding out, "Ember."  
"I completely lost myself Laxus! I was merciless... And the worst part is that I know I would have gone on to kill everyone in that god damn hole if you had died, and I wouldn't have had a moment of indecision! There would have been nothing left for the council to investigate except a few small bloodstains! Laxus I would have-"  
It was absolutely surreal, one moment I was hyperventilating as I word vomited everything that was in my mind, and the next I was cut off abruptly...  
By.. Well.. At first I wasn't sure, but it quickly became apparent that the thing that cut me off was non other than Laxus.  
More specifically, his lips.  
Immediately my brain shut down entirely as I stared wide-eyed at the blond haired spark plug that was closer to me than he had ever been.  
His lips were... well, they were softer than I expected, slightly rough, likely from all his missions, but they were still... Nice.  
It took time for the shock to wear off, but once it did, I couldn't help but push him away just as quickly, "What the hell was that?!" I exploded, grabbing both of his shoulders and slamming them back into the mattress, "You... You have stitches... You can't- you can't just go around moving like that... Why would you... What?!" It was official, my brain was mush.  
A short cough of pain escaped him when his back met the mattress, but his reactions were as fast as ever as he reached up and grabbed my wrist, pulling it in such a way that I lost my balance and tumbled down onto his thick frame.  
This may not have been the best of ideas, since that was right where his stitches were, but that didn't stop him from staring me dead in the eye, "You were slipping away, so I brought you back."  
… What?  
"Listen," He said, a sad look in his eyes, "I cannot say that everything you did is okay. Murder is terrible, and the way you described it shows that you were fully out of control. This could lead to some serious consequences..."  
I looked away in shame, his words were true, my actions could bring some serious repercussions back onto the guild.  
"But," He said, tapping my forehead slightly to bring me back, "It's nice to be alive." That had my breath catching in my throat for completely different reasons as I waited to see what he would say next, "From the sounds of it, I would be dead right now if you hadn't acted the way you did, which is nice to know that my partner would go that far to save me."  
His free hand reached up carefully and touched my chin, his thumb moving softly to outline my lips, "I guess that just means I'll have to stick by your side to stop you from doing something this stupid again, won't I?" With that he tightened his grip on my chin and pulled my head back down for another kiss... One that was less forceful, but no less shocking.  
It was official... My brain was completely melted.  
My hand fluttered down to rest on his chest as I tried to comprehend what was happening here, was I really kissing my childhood partner? Did I even feel for him that way? I mean, I killed for him, sure, but I had killed for the guild before... Was this different? I didn't even know.

After a moment Laxus rolled me off his chest with a heavy sigh, "You're overthinking it, aren't you?"  
I didn't answer, I couldn't... My mind was spinning so quickly that I hardly knew which way was up.  
"Listen," He grumbled, pulling me as tightly against him as he could, "I understand if you don't return my feelings, so even if you turn me down I'm going to stick close to you... That's what a family is supposed to do, but just know that I do have feelings for you."  
A quick motion from him had the lights dimming as I remained frozen in my original position, Feelings? What was I supposed to feel? I had known Laxus for so long that I had never bothered to think of him as anything more than a team member... A member of my family...  
I knew that there would be no sleep for me as I continued to ponder it... Just what was Laxus to me?


	40. The Gathering

I knew when Porlyusica said that we needed to chill for a while that she meant it 100%, both Laxus and I had been through the ringer, and while I certainly hadn't had my chest sliced open, I was still feeling the repercussions of having my body shut down. Because of that, both Laxus and I agreed that it would be best to chill in Balsam Village for a while where we wouldn't be disturbed. (I'm pretty sure that Laxus also wanted to see the Thunder God Tribe again to apologize for his actions, but that was just a side factor)  
And that how we ended up back at my house, sprawled over the couches because just getting through the entrance did us in. I mean... That is completely skipping over the fact that I was stuck in Era for a full day while Laxus was able to lounge in the lobby of the Rune Knights office. Needless to say, Lahar was not happy with how I conducted myself.  
Though... Perhaps he would think twice before he asked me to do a mission for him again, so this whole thing could be a silver lining.  
My actions over the last two days were, apparently, going to be dismissed due to extenuating circumstances, but that didn't mean I got out of a lecture over the importance of self control.  
Enough of the gloomy stuff though, being home again was one of the best feelings ever... And even the lingering amount of awkwardness from Laxus'... well... His actions, couldn't stop us from staring at each other for a few moments before we began to chortle uncontrollably.  
It was all so overwhelming, that laughing was really all we could do, so that's precisely what we did, even though it ended with us doubled up as we tried to get our breath back and force the pain to recede.  
After that we passed out for the next several days, making our way back to my room at one point just so we could be more comfortable (No nothing happened... and no, my brain never strayed to what could happen... I mean... why would it? That would just be.......)  
Okay fine, Laxus typically sleeps without a shirt on and my brain my have strayed to just how built he was... It means nothing though, got it?!  
In the midst of all the inner turmoil that may or may not have been going through my head, the day came when the guild members were supposed to come to my house, which was unnerving enough on its own. I didn't really want visitors to come over while Laxus was here, it could just lead to another fight that I refused to deal with.  
To be honest, I almost forgot all about our meeting and if Laxus hadn't mentioned seeing people from Fairy Tail hanging around on the train station platform, I would have left them out there all day.  
The week of sleep and rest meant that physically, I was almost recovered, I could get around just fine, so leaving my home for the first time that week was much easier than it had been only a few days before. My head was still aching like a bitch, and I could feel my magic slowly returning like a poisonous fog, but that wasn't enough to stop me.  
The narrow passageway opened up and I crawled out, squinting at the light like some cave creature emerging from hibernation. Ugh, outside was irritating...   
"Are you sure that's all she told you?" The confident voice of Erza reached me from around a pillar. This place was incredibly well hidden, which is a fact I was grateful for at the moment.  
Call me crazy, but I still enjoyed seeing the surprised looks on people's faces when they saw the entrance to my home, and if this was the group I thought it was, there were going to be some hilarious reactions here.  
"Yes?" A much softer voice chimed in, one that was immediately identifiable as Lucy, "I believe she told us to come here today, I don't think she mentioned a time or really anything else..." Her voice faded off awkwardly, giving me time to stand fully and catch my breath.  
A third voice chimed in, one that had me smiling ever so slightly, "Oh you guys are in the right place, just be patient." It was Ever, so the Thunder God Tribe had decided to come along, had they? This was certainly going to be interesting.  
"Wait, are you saying you know where she lives?" I counted the heartbeats that seemed to make up this group, and there were eleven people here, which obviously included the hot headed idiot who had just yelled out.  
A deep chuckle came from the soul mage, "Of course, we are her best friends after all, why else would we come with you kids?" I could hear the slight edge in Bickslow's voice... My guess was that they were still uncomfortable being with each other after the whole Battle of Fairy Tail incident.  
Perhaps I could use them to keep Laxus in his room and away from the rest of the group for a little bit. It would be nice to not have to deal with that bit of drama.  
"Well then, why can't you just bring us to her?" A deep voice asked, which was followed by a soft voice.  
"Juvia was wondering that as well."   
I sniggered, but decided that enough was enough, I needed to go back inside before my strength was completely gone. With minimal assistance from the column I was behind, I walked to to where everyone else was, "For one, I'm the only one who can open my home," Everyone jumped slightly as my voice startled them from their focus, "And for two? Well, I imagine they wanted to see the looks on your faces as much as I did."  
Gasps echoed around the now empty train station as they looked at me, "Oh my goodness," Erza murmured, which had me immediately rolling my eyes.   
"Miss Ember?"Lucy asked as she stepped forward, "Are you alright?"  
Okay, so maybe I wasn't as healed as I thought I was... Night terrors were a bitch to deal with.  
The Thunder God Tribe were frozen in place as they stared at me with horror, if they had seen me a week ago, this would have been so much worse, "Ember?" Freed asked hesitantly, but he was cut off my the pink haired idiot.  
"You look like crap." As always, he was brash and to the point, it wasn't something I liked about him, but I also didn't care for the most part.  
A smiled as gently as I could as I nodded slightly, "Yeah, dying tends to do that to you."  
And there we go, with that one comment, everyone in the area looked about ready to drop from the shock... Well, everyone except for Gajeel, who was staring at me intently. I knew I hadn't fooled the Thunder God Tribe, but he was the only one who knew just how serious my words were.  
I exchanged a series of looks with Ever, Freed, and Bickslow, trying to convey that I would fill them in later, but for the most part, the others just seemed to be laughing nervously, hoping that it was a joke, "Well then, should we get going? I need to sit down and I doubt you guys want to sit in the station for forever."  
Everyone nodded and I walked towards the wall to activate the doorway. Already I could sense the confusion from everyone else in the room... This was going to be great. The bluenette standing next to Gajeel looked about ready to explode as I reached up, wincing horribly, and pushed the buttons.  
As I turned around, I could see Ever and Bickslow grinning as the group began to look around in confusion, "Was that supposed to do something?" Icyman asked, shooting me a look filled with disdain that had me snorting.  
"Turn around idiot." I said simply as I leaned against the wall to fully appreciate the gasps that came when everyone turned around to see the hole in the pillar.  
The bluenette was the first to react, and I could honestly say that I have never seen a reaction that reminded me more of Freed when he first saw the entrance. "Oh my goodness, is that a lacrima activated switch? That's incredible Miss Ember! To have a device like this protecting your home... You must be very wealthy, I've only read about this type of device in-"  
No doubt she would have kept rambling as she tried to figure out exactly how the whole operating system worked, but Gajeel shut her up quickly enough as he placed a hand firmly over her mouth, "That's enough, Shrimp. If you keep talking we'll never get to go inside." My grin widened as I stared at them, god, it really was like looking through a mirror back to Freed and Laxus' reactions. This was great.  
"M-Miss Ember?" Lucy's voice shook, "Why do you have something like this? Does this lead to your home?"  
The idiot stepped in front of Lucy protectively when he noticed her shake and I couldn't help the evil grin that spread across my lips. Wouldn't it be so nice if I weren't the only one feeling... well, frustrated? It was obvious they liked each other and I was beginning to feel the boredom creeping up on me. Maybe the Thunder God Tribe could help as well, I could see Ever and Bickslow being more than willing to help me out here.  
I pushed myself off the wall and walked over to the opening, where Ever, Freed, and Bickslow had already entered, "I guess you'll just have to find out, won't you?"  
With that I jumped in and called out over my shoulder, "The panel only stays open for so long, so if you're coming, you've got to come quickly." There was a few hesitant steps before one person rushed the panel, leaving Gajeel calling out behind her.  
I didn't turn around to see what happened, but as I was going down and heard the girl entering enthusiastically I crawled quicker to catch up to Freed, "It looks like we found another one of you, doesn't it?" I whispered in his ear, which caused Ever and Bickslow to start laughing quietly.  
"You're so right Ember!" Ever practically squealed as she giggled into Bickslow's shoulder.  
Bickslow nodded with a sly look back up at his teammate, "True, though I don't think she quite dived in headfirst like you did, maybe she's able to control herself a little better."   
At this point we were all practically in stitches as she reminisced, though I could feel the irritation coming from Freed in tangible waves, "I'm not to sure about that, I just think she had someone who got to her before she could." I said as we got off the stairs.  
"Ha ha, very funny. It's good to see that you haven't lost your sense of humor." Freed said finally, pushing his hair off his shoulders with a long suffering sigh as he ducked into the tunnel that led to my front door. "Are you going to tell us what you meant earlier, or will we be treated to more jokes?"  
Freed always did know how to get to the heart of the matter... I could feel the others sudden shift to anticipation as they glanced at me, making sure that the others couldn't hear us, not that I was to worried at this point. Just as we opened the door to my home and stepped inside, a curse rang out behind us, filling the room with noisy people getting rather irritated with each other.  
Making sure that no one would be able to hear I turned to my oldest friends and looked each of them deeply in the eyes, "You know I can't talk about that now... To much has been happening, but if I could ask a favor of you, please keep Laxus in my room." Eyebrows raised at that.  
First of all, I was asking them to keep Laxus in my room, and second of all, I was asking them to keep Laxus in my room. A place I had a fairly strict 'keep out' rule over since I had known them, no wonder they were surprised...   
Freed immediately nodded, "I imagine you don't want to see what would happen if everyone were to see him right now." Of course he understood.   
I nodded in relief, but of course, it couldn't just stay like that... Ever got close to me and nudged my shoulder, "Are you sure thats the only reason? How about you explain why he's in your room, have you two done the dirty yet?"   
The amount of sadistic glee in her eyes made me flinch away slightly, especially when I remembered just how much time had been obsessing over that idiots muscles lately... This was honestly the first time I had ever been intimidated by Ever, and that fact didn't go unnoticed by the others.   
Both Freed and Bickslow did double takes, though I could tell Freed was doing more out of shock while Bickslow was surprised... And if I wasn't wrong there was also some major excitement there... Great... Just great... Now I had to deal with them on top of everything else.  
"No." I hissed, sending a glance towards the main group, who were all filing into my home and looking around with looks of awe on their faces, "Don't you dare plant that idea Ever. My room has a better bed and Laxus received some pretty major injuries on our last job, that's it."  
Ever didn't seem convinced, nor did Bickslow, but I didn't have time for them, "Just go, we'll talk when every one else is gone. I can't entertain the Spark Plug right now, and you guys know how he gets when he is bored... Please, I'm begging you at this point." I sent them the best 'puppy dog' look I was capable of (which wasn't very good, my eyes are too sharp and narrow to work with that look) and pouted slightly.  
Freed, unsurprisingly, was the first to break and he nodded resolutely before grabbing both Ever and Bickslow's collars before dragging them off towards my room as the other two leered at me, promising me an unpleasant conversation later.  
"Um, Miss Ember?" A soft voice called out and I turned to Lucy who was standing behind me looking completely uncomfortable with the situation, "Where are they going?" She asked as soon as I nodded for her to continue.  
I didn't want to do this... But they deserved some explanation, so I had very little choice in the matter. The others had stopped looking around in awe and were now focused on me, which made me more than a little nervous. "They're going to their rooms." I said simply before turning around and walking toward the second room that held the bar.  
"Their rooms?" Juvia chimed in as she followed at my heels, apparently she had gotten over her earlier shyness, as her tone was excited and so curious it wanted to make me down my woes in a whole bottle of vodka.  
Once again the group began to gasp in awe as the saw my beautiful bar, but I ignored them and walked to the edge and grabbed an apron, "Yeah, their rooms. We used this place as a base when we were a team, now they drop by when they can and their rooms are always open to them. Do you guys want anything to drink? I'm not the best, but I can make most of what you ask for."  
Unsurprisingly, Gajeel was the first to move to the bar and sit down with an excited gleam in his eyes as muttered an order for a whiskey on the rocks, an incredibly thing for me to make.  
There was barely enough room for everyone, but it only took a moment for Erza and Grey to go grab chairs from the other room, and soon enough everyone was sitting in a half circle around me as I steadily made drinks.  
"You were a member of The Thunder God Tribe?" Grey asked finally, this whole time he had been completely silent, it was obvious he was taking things in, but now he leaned forward with his eyes trained on me.  
If I hadn't stared down drug lords and psychopaths he might have stood a chance at intimidating me, "Yeah," I said simply, sliding Gajeels drink to him and getting started on Juvia's order of a simple blue raspberry lemonade, spiked of course, "When I first joined Fairy Tail I was with them for about two years. At that time Laxus was a member of the group as well."  
I was well aware that this conversation could lead into some very dangerous territory, but I would do my best to keep most of my information to myself. I had only promised to give three people any more detailed information, and those three people would be the only ones leaving here with any information beyond my life in the guild.  
It was the Bluenettes turn to ask a question, I could see her eyes twinkling from a mile away, "I don't think I've been able to find a time when Laxus was in a group... or any indication about when you joined, honestly it weird, it's like records of you don't even exist..." She faded off awkwardly as she stared at me for a moment, I could see the question she was trying to ask, but I simply stared at her, forcing her to ask me verbally, "Um... well... When did you join the guild?"  
Well it appeared she wasn't able to go through with asking her original question, I smiled gently as I slid Juvia her drink, "I joined Fairy Tail around eight and a half years ago, six years ago is roughly when both Laxus and I split off from the Thunder God Tribe. I know I'm rarely in the guild, but I'm pretty sure I joined before any of you guys... I don't remember really any of your faces which means that most of you joined the guild after I stopped coming to the guild hall."  
Both Lucy and Levi asked for waters, which was easy enough for me to get, but I was a tad bit distracted by the pink haired idiot who glared at me for a few minutes before suddenly shouting out his question, "Why would you leave your team?" He asked sourly, "Didn't you like being with them? You guys seem like your close, so why leave?"  
Ah, this was a question the Old Man had asked me many times, "Because I work better on my own." My answer to the idiot was the same that I had given the Old Man a million times.  
He looked troubled, but didn't ask again as he grumbled into his cup (Nothing alcoholic, most of these guys were basically kids, there was no way I was going to give them a bunch of liquor before I set them loose in my house), and before long Erza stepped up to the plate with the next question.  
"You mentioned using this place, did you just find it? It seems rather large for someone as young as you." She was suspicious. Why? I wasn't sure, but her suspicion vibes were off the charts. She knew I had been the Ghost of Fiore, so why was she asking me something like this?  
Honestly, I wanted to just slam my head into the counter top and tell them all to get the fuck out, but doing that would simply lead to a bigger headache, so instead I smiled, "This place belonged to the people who trained me, they left and I kept it."  
Everything was silent for a moment as they all took in the new information. I had no doubt that their minds were blown with everything I had told them... it was more than most other people in the guild knew about me, that's for sure.  
I looked up just in time to see the pink haired idiot's eyes light up like a candle a moment before he shot out of his seat and pointed a finger at me, "Wait, did you say you died?"  
He certainly was quick on the uptake, wasn't he?  
A blue cat crawled out from behind the idiot's back only to sprout wings and fly up to sit in the boy's hair, "Wow Natsu, she said that a long time ago, you really are dumb, aren't you?"  
A surprised cough escaped me as I tried to stifle my laughter. Sure, I had been thinking the same thing, but I hadn't expected a weird cat to say it for me.  
"Shut up Happy," The idiot said as he folded his arms and looked away pouting. He was so childish that it was almost funny and if I wasn't fresh out of patience I might just enjoy toying with him.  
My hand snuck below the counter to where the minifridge was, Bickslow kept some weird crap in there, and last I remembered... I grinned victoriously as my hand met the object I was looking for, "Yes, I died. I took a job from the Rune Knights and things turned... well, a bit dicey." My tone was even, which likely caused more confusion, but I cut off any response as I pulled my hand out from under the countertop and threw what I had grabbed to the blue cat.  
He intercepted the large fish as it was still in the air and looked between it and me for a solid minute as tears welled up in his eyes and he pulled the fish to his chest.  
I could practically feel the pink haired idiot trying not to explode as he stared at me even more intensely then he had before, "You did a job for the Rune Knights? Since when do they hand out jobs like that?" The others were curious as well... I certainly had gotten myself into a pickle, now hadn't I?  
The bluenette was looking at me with near literal stars in her eyes and I could see everyone else getting ready to explode with questions, it was time to divert, "When are you going to tell Lucy that you like her?" I asked quickly, which made his mouth shut and Lucy's face to explode into a mess of red all within a few seconds.  
"E-Eh?!" She practically screamed which had a sadistic smirk edging at my lips, I could see both Levi and Gajeel trying to hide similar grins and the rest of Lucy's team were all coughing to cover rather obvious laughter.  
Juvia had perked the moment I mentioned any form of crush, "Does Love-rival love someone else?" She beamed, "If that's so, then Juvia will no longer have to worry about Love-Rival taking Grey from her! Juvia is so happy!"  
Icyman blushed slightly at this and Lucy shook her head furiously, apparently she was no longer sure which thought she needed to correct first.  
Content with the amount of chaos I had caused with a single question, I stepped out from behind the bar, chuckling quietly as the blue cat sent me a thumbs up. Careful not to recapture everyone's attention to early, I slipped off the apron before turning back to the group. Public question time was now over/  
"Alright, Juvia, Lucy, and Gajeel, if you three would come with me, let's chat. Everyone else..." I paused as I looked at the two teenage boys and the two women, "Sorry to leave you guys alone, but I promised them something. If you get into my alcohol cupboard then you are paying for every last drop of liquor you take..."  
"Also, I would recommend not going into any of the other rooms, I've gotten most of the booby traps, but that certainly doesn't mean that they're safe." With that I walked out with my small group, I had no idea if my whose would still be standing after leaving those four alone, but I was willing to take the risk.  
It was would boil down to their own stupidity if they got hurt.  
I walked down the hall to a little used conference room that I hadn't been in in years and ushered the group in, my grin widening slightly as I heard the pink haired idiot yell out in shock from behind me, "She never answered my question!"  
No I didn't, you idiot, and with any luck, I never would.


End file.
